Candy is Dandy
by Cadenza Cavatina
Summary: Chapter 9 up. Shall We Dance? Includes Willy singing I'm Too Sexy! Come on, you know you want to read it now! R&R, guys!
1. Aunt Wendy's Coming Home!

**Title: **Candy is Dandy

**Author: **Quill in Hand

**Genre:** General/Romance

**Pairings:** Wonka/OC

**Rating:** Shouldn't be more than PG, I imagine.

**Summary:** When Charlie's aunt comes crashing into Willy's backyard, will he be able to stand having her around? Only time will tell! I know this has been done, but I'd like to give it a shot. Story better than summary (I hope). NOT A MS!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story is based off of the 2005 movie. All credits go to Roald Dahl, Tim Burton, and prolly some other people. They're not mine; I just like playing with 'em! **

Candy is Dandy 

Sarah Bucket was worried.

This was rather normal, as she was a worrier by nature. She used to worry about not having enough food to eat, and money, and Jacob's job at the toothpaste factory, and the well being of all the grandparents. Then, after Charlie became Mr. Wonka's heir and they moved into the chocolate factory a couple months ago, she worried about Charlie and Mr. Wonka when they didn't come home in time for dinner because they were off "brainstorming." But today she was worried about something completely different.

Her sister.

Sarah Bucket had an older sister, Wendy. To Sarah's knowledge, Wendy had recently been traveling in South America, to be more specific, somewhere in Brazil. Sarah could live with that. Her sister may have been rather...unpredictable at times, but she could most definitely take care of herself. However, Wendy could also read the news. What the news had reported at the beginning of February was, of course, that Charlie was now heir to Wonka's chocolate factory. Sarah knew that Wendy was crazy about Charlie, and she certainly would have known by now about his new situation. Therefore, she had supposed the letter from Wendy was to wish him well on his new situation. But Sarah had never expected _this_...

_Dearest Sarah,_

_I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am about Charlie getting the factory! I always knew the little rascal would do something great with his life. By the time my letter reaches you, I should be on my way home! My good friend Cesar is letting me have an old plane of his, since he's still fixing up my old one that he crashed. Funny story, that...I'll have to remember to tell you when I get home! My plan is to land in that large field near the factory, then I can just walk over to your house. It's not that far. I'd take a commercial flight, but those are quite expensive, and really, it's much more reasonable if I fly Frankie and myself. Oh, I can't wait to see you and Jacob and Mum and Dad and the rest...but here I am rambling on. You can expect me within a day or so of receiving this letter. Ta for now!_

_Your most favorite sister,_

_Wendy_

So, Sarah was worried. Because the large field Wendy had mentioned in her letter was now a part of the factory, as Mr. Wonka was making plans to expand. Sarah Bucket wasn't sure how Mr. Wonka would take to someone landing a plane in his backyard, but she doubted that he would be very pleased. She was sitting at the kitchen table, letter clutched in her hand, with a perplexed and worried look on her face when her husband came in.

"Hello, Sarah dear. How was your day?" he asked, kissing her cheek. She numbly handed him the letter. As Jacob scanned it, his face quickly assumed the same look as his wife's.

"Oh," he said softly. "Well, should we tell him and Charlie?"

"Tell us what?" asked Wonka brightly as he and Charlie entered the small house.

Mr. and Mrs. Bucket exchanged a look, wondering how to go about telling the man who had done so much for their family that Charlie's aunt would be landing a plane in his backyard. Silently, Jacob handed the letter to Mr. Wonka, who read through it with the same odd smile playing on his lips.

"We just wanted to warn you, Willy," Sarah said quickly. "I am really sorry for my sister's rash judgment- she doesn't often give thought to how her actions might affect others…" But she paused when an Oompa Loompa came running up and tugged at Mr. Wonka's pant leg. He bent down, and the Oompa Loompa whispered something into his ear. Straightening up, Mr. Wonka faced the assembled Buckets.

"Wow, your sister really has good timing!" said Mr. Wonka, giggling nervously. "I've just been informed that a plane cra- _landed_ behind my factory. I'm guessing that's gonna be her. Why don't you guys go meet her, while I just go, uh, to the Testing Room…I think the Oompa Loompas had a question about… something. I really should go check it out. You just say hello then send her packing, 'kay?"

Privately, Sarah thought this was a good idea, and made no motion to stop him. He had turned around to leave, but was stopped by an enthusiastic Charlie who had, apparently, taken the letter from Mr. Wonka's hand and read it.

"Aunt Wendy's come home? Mr. Wonka, I think you should meet her. I'm sure you two would get on splendidly, you both have so much in common," he said, smiling at him.

Sarah thought about that for a moment. Charlie did have a point; the two did have rather a lot in common, but she still didn't think that Mr. Wonka was one to welcome a perfect stranger with open arms. She was about to point this out to him when Charlie interrupted.

"Mr. Wonka, you're not scaredof meeting my aunt, are you?" he asked, barely hiding a mischievousgrin.

Wonka look extremely affronted. "Of course not! What, do you think I'm antisocial or something? I'm perfectly capable of meeting your a- aun- a-"

Sarah sighed, rather used to this by now. "Aunt, Willy."

"Hey, I'm not your- oh. Right. That. Uh, yeah! Let's rock and roll!" He gave a rather uninspired grin and headed out of the Chocolate Room. Charlie rolled his eyes and grabbed Mr. Wonka's sleeve.

"The back door is this way, Mr. Wonka."

"Right. I knew that."

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Should I continue? I have a story all mapped out, but I can still take suggestions. I don't think I captured Wonka's character very well, but I tried. Also, I lost my copy of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, so I don't know the Buckets' first names. So for this story, they are Jacob and Sarah Bucket, and, should I need to use it, Sarah's maiden name (and Wendy's last name) is Small. I would like some feedback! Also, if anyone wants to beta this, I would be MUCH MUCH MUCH obliged! Just say so in your review or email me. **

**Chapter 2: Willy has a flashback of his own aunt, Sarah sighs, Charlie is exuberant, and who is Frankie? Review and I update faster, kiddies!**


	2. There's a Plane in my Backyard?

**Disclaimer: Not mine. But Wendy and Frankie are! Woo, I own something! Props to me! Oh, btw, the flattery quote in this chapter belongs to E. L. Konigsburg. I borrowed it from her book _From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler_. So yeah, that quote's not mine either. Rats.**

**Chapter Two**

As Wonka found himself being pulled through the factory by an excited Charlie, he was sucked into yet another flashback of his childhood years when he'd been forced to stay with his own aunt…Aunt Miriam…

_Dr. Wonka was away at a dentist's convention, and of course, he did not want to bring his son along. So he phoned his older sister, Miriam, to see if she could watch him for a few days. _

"_Now Willy," began his father sternly, "you must behave as well for your aunt as you do for me. The usual rules apply, of course. No television, no sweets, and you must remember to do your schoolwork and floss. Have you got that, young man?"_

_The younger Willy nodded meekly. "Yes, sir."_

_The doorbell rang. "That will be her! Go get the door, Willy." His father gave him a little push towards the entryway. Willy opened the door and was greeted by a large, rather heavyset woman who looked to be about sixty. She was nearly the carbon copy of his father- short gray hair, glasses, a scowling expression; she even had a small moustache! Aunt Miriam stared down at Willy with a disdainful look._

"_Kind of a shrimp, isn't he? Doesn't look like he'll come out to much, you mark my words, Wilbur," she said with a knowing look at the dentist. "What are you waiting for, child, an invitation? Carry my bags inside." Aunt Miriam swept in and settled herself on the couch and began rummaging about in her valise, apparently looking for something. Dr. Wonka looked down at his son. _

"_You be good for Aunt Miriam now, Willy. I'll see you on Monday." And with those parting words, the dentist grabbed his own bag and went out to the waiting taxi. Willy turned to his aunt, setting her bags down just inside the door. _

"_Don't just stand there, young man, we've got work to do!" She pulled several textbooks and workbooks out of her bag. "I doubt you learn much at that public school, hmm? Well, I'll soon remedy that! I'm a schoolteacher at Westwood Academy, you know, and we don't slouch on education there. Now sit down, I've got some grammar exercises you can work on." _

Willy shuddered. He had done grammar exercises for _hours_…it was enough to drive a person insane just thinking about it. Hopefully, Charlie's aunt wouldn't be as bad, but one never knew…he took a quick look behind him. The rest of the Bucket clan was following, so no luck going back. Willy didn't particularly want to meet this Wendy person at all, no matter what she was like. It was his factory, after all! What business did she have, crashing a plane on his property? Yeah, he'd go out there and tell her to scram! Yeah…but then Charlie would be upset.

_Well_, he supposed, _if all I have to do is meet this lady…not like I have to invite her in or anything. Just let her say hello to her family, and then send her packing. Yep, I can handle this! _Feeling much better for his decision, he squared his shoulders and opened the back doors leading outside the factory.

The sight that met his eyes made him wince. A perfectionist by nature, he hated anything out of place or messy. This…spectacle was both. The nose of the plane was crumpled against the ground, tail end sticking up a great deal more than the front. Smoke was issuing out of the front, and there were bits and pieces of metal littering his usually pristine ground. He was still observing the damage when his ears were suddenly assaulted by a very loud scream.

"**_SARAH!_**" He looked in the direction that the scream came from, and saw, popping up from the cab of the airplane, the woman whom he could only assume was Charlie's aunt.

She was rather tall, although this could be attributed to the fact that she was now perched precariously on the left wing of the plane. When she hopped down, he noticed that she was about eye level with him. The second thing he noticed was her hair. It was dark brown and exceedingly curly. It was pulled back into a ponytail, and he got the impression that a lot of brown springs were exploding from the back of her head. Her nose was long, thin, and pointy, and looked distinctly like a beak. She had a very wide, smiling mouth, green eyes, and was very tan. While Willy didn't classify her as pretty, he couldn't deny that she was rather... interesting looking.

"Sarah, I've missed you so _much_! It's been _ages_! How have you _been_?" Willy winced again at her loud, high-pitched squeal and observed amusedly as Mrs. Bucket was swept into a gigantic bear hug.

"Nice…to see…you, too…Wendy," Mrs., Bucket gasped as Wendy stepped back and let her go.

"Sorry, dear. I'm just so happy to see you again!" Wendy turned away from her sister abruptly and knelt down to receive an exuberant Charlie's hug.

"Oh, my most favorite little nephew! I have missed you more than you can imagine, darling," she said emotionally, careful not to crush him this time in her excitement.

Willy, cleverly stepping back into the shadows, watched as Mr. Bucket's hand was shaken enthusiastically. He most definitely did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of a hug from anyone, must less this loopy woman. Willy planned on doing everything he could to stay out of her way.

Unfortunately for Willy, however, Fate did not seem to agree. After Wendy had tearfully greeted her parents and the other two elder folk, she spotted him lurking in the background. Grinning rather insanely (in Willy's opinion), the woman walked over to him.

"Charlie, wherever did you find this _treasure_?" she said, taking in Wonka's…eccentric look. Willy gripped his cane tighter with both hands. He thought vaguely that he might need to use it to escape the she-beast's clutches.

"Aunt Wendy, that's Willy Wonka. You know, the man who made me his heir and is now letting us live in his factory?" said Charlie, desperately hoping that his aunt wouldn't do anything to scare Mr. Wonka off.

"Oh, of course it is! Really, it's an honor to meet you, sir," she said, hand outstretched to shake his. Wonka backed away slightly, an odd grin on his face. He gave a nervous laugh, and said the first thing that popped into his head, a habit that often got him odd looks and mutterings about men in white jackets.

"Welcome to the merry old land of Oz!"

Wendy chuckled, and her smile, which had faltered a bit when he didn't return the handshake, kicked up a few more notches. Willy thought he might go blind.

"Well then, thank you. If this is Oz, then you must be the Wizard. Only someone with magic in them can make such candy as _yours_, my dear." Wendy smiled as Wonka puffed his chest out, a smug look on his face. (Flattery is as important a machine as the lever, dear readers. Give it a proper place to rest and it can move the world. Wendy knew this, and used it to her advantage.). When Wonka heard Charlie snickering softly, he deflated a bit and sank back into the shadows, sulking, occasionally shooting Wendy a sour look.

Willy was exceptionally glad when Mrs. Bucket tapped Wendy on the shoulder, directing Wendy's attention away from himself. "Er, Wendy?" ventured Sarah. "Where are you going to be staying while you're in town? I know you sold your house when you had planned to go on your trip around the world, so I was wondering if you had given it any thought?"

A quick look at Wendy's face showed that she actually had not given this any thought at all. "Oh. Um. Good question, Sarah dear. I had originally planned on staying with you, then renting a room somewhere once I had gotten my bearings, but I don't suppose I can still do that now…" Willy was quite happy to hear that.

"No, no, of course you can't," he said to her in a sickeningly sweet voice. "But I'm sure you can find a hotel room somewhere, right? Good! Now, you'd better be off! Ta ta! Auf Wiedersehen!" He gave her a little push towards her wrecked plane.

"Oh, but Mr. Wonka, she can stay in the set of rooms next to mine! You know, Mr. Wonka, the Green Suite? I'm sure Aunt Wendy would appreciate it, and she wouldn't be any trouble at all." Charlie looked at Wonka with pleading eyes. Willy tried to strengthen his resolve, to tell Charlie "No." But his traitor of a mouth betrayed him, and Willy found himself saying, "Sure. Fine. Stay. Whatever."

_Stupid mouth!_ Willy's brain thought. _That's why **I'M** the brain, so I don't go making stupid decisions like that!_ But his mouth just grinned and stuck his tongue out at him. Luckily, no one noticed as Wendy and Charlie were celebrating.

"Thank you _ever_ so much, Mr. Wonka! This is so much easier than having to find a hotel room this time of night!" Wendy beamed at him.

"Um, Wendy?" said Mr. Bucket. "It's three in the afternoon."

"So it is, so it is," she replied, look completely unperturbed. "My, but time does fly when you're having fun."

Willy hadn't seen anything unusual in this, having often lost track of time in the Inventing Room, but Jacob sent Sarah a look that clearly said, _She's YOUR barmy sister, dear._

To which Sarah sent him a look back that read, _Don't remind me, Jacob._

Looking around, Willy noted that at some point in all the confusion the grandparents had gone back inside, and thought that he should follow their example. He turned to go back in when he heard a very loud, very deep, "**WOOF!**" right behind him. Willy stopped. Slowly, he turned back around, and was greeted by a very large gray dog placing its paws on his shoulders and giving him a lick on the face. He closed his eyes and stepped back, causing the monster to jump down, then began to scrub his face with a handkerchief, shuddering.

"Dog germs. On my _face_. Beautiful coat…ruined," he muttered, quite horrified by the ordeal. "Ew." _You can say that again_, he thought. So he did, with gusto. "Ewww."

"Oh, Frankie!" Wendy grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck and looked him in the eye. "I told you, we DON'T JUMP ON PEOPLE. Bad dog!" Frankie cowered and groveled at her feet, whimpering. "Down," she commanded, and he obediently lay down on the ground.

"A dog, Charlie! You didn't mention a dog!" Willy wailed, still trying to rid himself of every single germ.

"But I thought you liked dogs, Mr. Wonka," said Charlie. "I mean, you told me how you always wanted one, but your dad would never let you have one."

"Yeah, well, that's _different_," he said, pouting. "That _thing_ attacked me!"

"Oh, he did not attack you, you big crybaby," said Wendy. "First off, Irish Wolfhounds are very sweet and even-tempered dogs. Frankie is normally well behaved. I expect that he was just excited at meeting new people. I promise you, he won't cause any trouble in you factory. _Will_ you, Frankie?" She gave him a look, and Frankie licked her hand. "See? He'll be an _angel_," she simpered. "You sweet widdle puppy, Mummy wuves you. You is a good boy, isn't you? Isn't you?"

Willy was taken aback at being called a crybaby, and rather disgusted at the way this lady talked to her dog, but was more concerned with decontaminating himself, and getting one of his Oompa Loompas to clean his beautiful plum coat. He beckoned for Charlie to come over, then whispered in his ear.

"Charlie, I suppose I have to let her stay, but that doesn't mean I have to show her the factory or anything. Take her to her room, if you must, but don't let her near any of my machines, candy-making rooms, or anything else that she or that…thing could mess up, " Satisfied at making sure she couldn't do any harm in the factory, he went back inside. Charlie led Wendy and Frankie to their new home, chattering on about how wonderful it was living in the factory, and how neat it was that she was going to be staying there, too.

Sarah sighed. "Come on then, Jacob. Grab her bags. We might as well make her feel at home." She started after the three. Jacob ran after her, a large suitcase in each hand.

"Well, dear," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "at least it will be interesting. And you're always talking about how Willy needs to socialize with people more…" He trailed off at the look on his wife's face. He sighed, got a tighter hold on the suitcases, and marched on in stony silence.

**A/N: I had some trouble writing this chapter, so I'm not sure if it came out very well. Meh. I'm having lots of fun writing it. Please review, guys! They brighten up my day! Also, tell me if you think Wendy is too much of a Mary Sue. I highly doubt it, but what do I know. If you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me! Mad props to my reviewers.  You all get a hug from Willy!**

"**Hey, I never agreed to that!"**

**Mwaha! I am the authoress, and you shall do as I say, slave!**

**Um, sorry. Got a bit carried away there…anywho, onto the reviews!**

**Willy Wonka's Sweet Sugar Babe: Thanks so much! Lol, nope. He's not. I thought about making him be one after your review, but I don't know what a whangdoodle looks like, and I think the Oompa Loompas would freak. **

**Wicked Seraphina: Thanks! I'm glad you think so. I didn't plan on him liking her much at first…whoops! I think I gave too much away. Oh well, w/e. Lol, you are right. She will turn out to be rather loopy, and I loved that word so much, I used it in here! **

**R. Joy Helvie: Yeah, I was spazzing about that. I even emailed another author in case they knew! But they had just made up the names too, so I thought, what the hell. Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter as much as the beginning!**

**Super Lizard: Sorry if you think she's a Mary Sue, but thanks for the grammar comment. That means a lot to me.**

**Chapter 3: I have no idea yet! Dun dun duuuun! Actually, I have a vague idea, but the details will come in time, I hope. Urk.**

**OH! Anyone who wants to know what any Irish Wolfhound looks like, go to this site (w/o the spaces):**

**http // www . Puppydogweb . Com / caninebreeds / irishwlfhnd . htm**


	3. Wakeup Calls and Retribution

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. But Wendy and Frankie are! Also, there is an allusion to Dr. Seuss in here! You get a hug from Willy if you can find it!**

"Bye, Mum."

"Have a nice day a school, Charlie,"

"I will. Bye Mr. Wonka!"

"Catch ya later, alligator." Willy sighed. Charlie had really grown on him, and he wished that Charlie didn't have to go to school. But his parents had insisted. Honestly. Parents.

Looking at his pocket watch, he saw that it was nearly eight. "Thanks for breakfast, Mrs. Bucket. It was great. Guess I'd better be off, too- Charlie and I had this great idea for pencils with taffy erasers, so I thought get started on that-"

"Nearly eight? Hmm. Willy, would you be a dear and see if Wendy's up yet? She's probably got jet-lag, and if she doesn't get up at a decent time her sleeping schedules will be off." Mrs. Bucket smiled at him. "Please? You'd be doing me such a favor…"

Willy really did not want to come in contact with Wendy or the beast any more than he had too, and was about to refuse when he remembered his plan to get Wendy out of his factory ASAP. "Oh, sure, Mrs. Bucket. I'd be glad to wake her up for you," he said gleefully.

"Thanks, Willy, You're a big help."

Willy whistled cheerfully as he started across the Chocolate Room, skipping a bit as he walked. His plan was to make Wendy as miserable as possible. Then, she couldn't possibly want to stay! As an added bonus, he'd get to be as annoying as he liked, a talent he didn't get to exercise nearly enough.

He stopped before the door of the Green Suite. He rapped on the door with his cane, but didn't get a response. Shrugging, he turned the knob and walked in.

True to its name, the Green Suite was…green. The walls, the floor, the furniture…all different shades, but all green. He took a quick look around the room, noting the bags on the floor, and the beast curled up on the foot of the bed. All he could see of Wendy, however, was a hand dangling over the side and a large green lump of covers. He smiled nastily.

The chocolatier began poking the comatose lump with cane. No response. He jabbed the pile of covers hard in the side.

"Unnnnghmmmff…gway…twelmerhars…"

Willy got very close to what he appeared to be the head and took a deep breath.

"**_WAKEY, WAKEY, EGGS AND BACY!_**"

He stood back, giggling rather insanely as he watched Wendy leap three feet into the air, covers and all, swinging her pillow around as though she were trying to hit something and yelling about someone named Joey. Frankie had gotten rolled off the bed and howled along with her.

"Where is it? Where'd it go? Did it get Joey?" she sputtered. Willy couldn't speak for laughing. Wendy seemed to regain her senses and remember where she was. Still standing on the bed, she narrowed her eyes at Willy and clutched the pillow in her hands.

"What was that for?" she demanded, scowling at him and trying to look menacing. The intended effect was somewhat dulled by the fact that her hair looked as though she had stuck her finger in a socket, and she was wearing yellow footy pajamas with penguins on them.

He replied in a singsong tone, "Good morningto you, good morning to you. We're all in our places, with sunshiny faces, and this is the way to start a new day! Good morning, good morning, good morning to you!"

Wendy nailed him in the head with the pillow.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"Out! Out! Get out!" she shrieked at him.

He strode out the door, snickering to himself. That went over quite nicely. _Go me!_ he thought. _I deserve a pat on the back for that display. _

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Back in the Green Suite, however, Wendy was not amused. As she showered and dressed, she was thinking very dark thoughts about the candy maker.

_Hmm…that's his game, is it? _she thought wryly. _Try and make me _want_ to leave? Well, I won't give him that satisfaction. I'll stay here for a while, just to spite him! But I can't let him get away with that trick he pulled earlier…I'll have to get back at him…but how?_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Willy hummed happily as he walked down one of the many hallways in his factory, still quite delighted with Wendy's reaction to her "wake-up call", as he had dubbed it. He was chuckling (yet again) at the memory, when he rounded a corner and saw Wendy, kneeling to converse with one of _his_ Oompa Loompas! How dare she!

Wendy saw him coming and straightened up, smiling. "Why good _morning_, Mr. Wonka. I was just wondering how I could get to the Bucket's house from here. I know Charlie said to go through the Chocolate Room, but I just don't know where that is. So I stopped to ask for directions…something you, as a man, probably never do." She shot him a sickeningly sweet smile. He scowled in return.

"Don't you want to know who it is you're speaking to?"

"I was under the impression that you were Willy Wonka…"

"Not what I meant…you don't want to know what that is?" he asked exasperatedly, gesturing at the Oompa Loompa. "I mean, most people have never seen an Oompa Loompa before…" he trailed off at her expression. "You're going to tell me you've been to Loompaland, right."

"Oh yes!" she chirped cheerfully, inwardly applauding herself for being one step ahead of Willy. "I came upon it, quite by accident, several years ago. Such a sweet bunch of people…but I suppose you know all about it. How sweet of you to take them in! I made a second stop there, you know, before I went to Brazil…entirely populated by Whangdoodles now, of course…"

Somewhere along the line Wendy had hooked arms with Willy, and he found himself being steered towards the Chocolate Room. He was quite confused. How in the world had _she_ turned the tables on _him_? And she was _still_ prattling on about something or other. He quickly slid his arm out of her grasp with a barely concealed grimace. Luckily, Wendy didn't seem to notice, yet continued to chatter.

"…So then I said, just boil dog spit, it certainly tastes the same! And it does, let me tell you…nasty stuff, that…"

Willy had lost track of what she was talking about a long time ago. The phrase, "talking you ear off" now had new meaning for him. He stared at her for a moment. Didn't she need to breathe?

But when he opened the doors to the Chocolate Room, he noted with a satisfied smirk that Wendy was struck dumb. Willy then went into his I'm-going-to-impress-you-with-my-amazing-genius tour guide mode, and began to explain the finer points of his spectacular creation and a rather holier-than-thou tone.

**(Switch to Wendy's POV)**

Yet Wendy hardly heard a word he was saying. Mesmerized by the incredible edible candyland, it took Wendy a moment to realize that Wonka was waving something in front of her face. A leaf, evidently plucked from one of the trees.

"Try it," he said, eyes gleaming with pride at his creation. "Like this." He made helpful snapping motions with his teeth.

Wendy nibbled the edge carefully. To her surprise and delight, it tasted exactly like licorice.

"It's candy!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Well, duh. The whole room is candy. Bet you've never seen anything like this before, have ya? Even the grass is eatable," he declared proudly.

Wendy frowned. "You mean edible."

"No, I mean eatable."

"But the proper word is edible."

"Sorry, lady, but have _you_ ever made anything as fabtacular as this? Didn't think so. If I want to call it eatable, then I'm not gonna let some _grammar nazi_ stop me. So there!" And with that last childish remark, he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Hmph," muttered Wendy under her breath as Wonka turned abruptly toward the chocolate river. "Well _excuse_ me, you toffee-nosed little…call me grammar nazi, will you?" She trailed off as she stared at Wonka's retreating back. Then she got an idea. An awful idea. Wendy got a wonderful, awful idea.

Barely suppressing a snigger, she crept up behind him. He was now right at the river's edge. Perfect. Swiftly she grabbed his shoulders and thrust him forward with a very loud "**BOO!**" Just before he toppled into the chocolaty depths, she hauled him back, saving the chocolatier from and unwanted dunking.

But it was too late for his hat.

**A/N: Woo! This chapter was giving me a bit of trouble at the beginning, but I really, really enjoyed writing it. I would've had it posted last night, but my dad made me go to bed early, so I handwrote the rest of it. -- As usual, a hug from Willy for those who review! Oh, I also used the word "toffee-nosed" in here…I have Microsoft Word, so I'm constantly using the thesaurus. I was trying to find a better word for "snobby", and it listed "toffee-nosed"! I thought that was hilarious and perfect, so I used it. Anyways, onto the reviews!**

**From Chapter 1:**

**RockyHorrorFreak: Thanks!**

**JillyBean: I took you advice went to that website. Apparently Wendy's not really a Mary Sue, just a strong OC. Go me! Thanks by the way.**

**From Chapter 2:**

**Willy Wonka's Sweet Sugar Babe: Oh, I know! And I'm even meaner, messing with his hat! **

**R. Joy Helvie:** **Thank you sooo much! I'm really glad you think that. That's the look I was going for, by the way. Your review made me so happy! squeals happily**

**PucktoFaerie: I'm glad you think it's interesting, and thank you!**

**Wicked Seraphina: Aww, your reviews make me writhe with joy! Your opinions mean a lot to me. I'm sooo glad that you think Wendy's cool, and that you like Frankie. I don't know about telling people to shove it, though…I'll just take their opinions into consideration when I'm writing Wendy. Gah, yay! I felt better about writing Willy in this chapter, somehow. I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job. And I made him use one of your words!  beams **

**Time Rowanwood: grin Yes! I'm glad you think Wendy is well written. I do try. And I'm so happy that people are pleased with Frankie. I was at the dog park with my dog once (a not-so-small German Shepard/Rottweiler mix) and she was able to walk under and Irish Wolfhound. I adore big dogs, and I thought Willy might be a bit intimidated by one, so… **

**Gah, sorry all. The reviews seem to take up so much space, but I love answering them! Please review, it makes me scream with happiness! OH! Before I forget, a big, BIG thanks to my bro, insanepsycho, for reading through this and being my beta! I LOVE YOU MAN!**

**Chapter 4: Willy get his revenge, Frankie eats, and is that Wendy…on a motorcycle? **


	4. Hats and Hairballs and Motorcycles

Disclaimer: Oompa Loompa dompadeedo, 

**I do not own this; please do not sue!**

**Oompa Loompa dompadeedee,**

**I couldn't give you any money! (coz I'm POOR!)**

**Hats and Hairballs and Motorcycles, Oh my!**

Wendy gasped. "Oh no! Oh, Mr. Wonka, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean– it wasn't– I'm so sorry!"

Mr. Wonka didn't seem to hear her. He simply gaped in horror as his most favorite, beloved hat (his image!) went floating down the gooey chocolate river.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," Wendy fretted, hopping anxiously from foot to foot. "What to do, what to do! She spotted a large candy cane growing not too far from the riverbank. Hurriedly, she plucked it from the ground and managed to hook the end around his hat. Wendy lifted the makeshift rescue device carefully, careful not to knock its passenger back to a chocolaty grave.

Wendy grasped the dripping hat from the end of the candy cane and offered it to the shell-shocked man, who hadn't moved a muscle through the entire process. The chocolatier accepted it gingerly, and caressed the tainted top lovingly.

"Don't worry, precious," he cooed to it. "I've got something that will take that mess off in a jiffy." He turned as if to leave the chocolate room, then whirled around to face Wendy, who immediately began apologizing profusely in an agitated voice. She sputtered to a stop as Wonka placed one finger over her mouth, a sign to shush.

"You'll pay for this," he hissed. Then he spun on his heel and headed out the door, leaving Wendy worrying about what his revenge could possibly be.

As soon as Wonka had left the room, Wendy's ears were assailed by great deal of raucous laughter coming from the Bucket's house.

"It isn't funny!" she shrieked, but this only made the grandparents laugh harder. Wendy heaved a sigh and started towards the small house.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

"Sarah," the elder sister moaned, "he's going to do something perfectly awful, I know it! I'm not saying I don't deserve it, of course, but _still_…" Wendy sighed over the customary cup of tea her sister _always_ made during a crisis and tried to block out the sound of all the grandparents still guffawing over her prank. "I think I'm going to go out for a bit."

"Go out where, Wen?" Sarah asked as she bustled around the small kitchen.

"I need to pick up some things I left in storage before my trip. And Frankie needs dog food," Wendy replied. "I know he must be starving, but he'll have to do without 'til I get back."

"I can give him a bowl of scraps, if you like," offered Sarah, wanting to ease her sister's bad mood.

Wendy smiled. "Thanks, Sar, you're a dear. I'm off then. I'll probably be back in two hours or so," she said, heading out the door. "Can you see that someone opens the gates for me to come back in? I don't particularly want to be stranded outside."

Sarah nodded. "Will do, Wen." Sarah was feeling sorry for her only sibling. Wendy was absolutely convinced that Mr. Wonka hated her, and it hurt her feelings immensely. Sarah was pretty sure that Wonka was just getting to know her, testing her limits, and that it would all blow over in time, but Wendy wouldn't listen to anyone when she was in a mood. She could be quite impossible sometimes. Sarah grinned. Some things never change.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Upon reaching the room that Wonka had grudgingly allowed Wendy, Sarah noticed that the door was slightly open. She frowned as she recognized Willy's voice.

"C'mon, eat it, there's a good evil monster dog." This was followed by a gulping sound, then Willy's voice again.

"No, no, don't _lick_ me! Eww, dog germs! Get _off_, you little–"

Sarah pushed open to door to reveal Willy trying to fend off Frankie with his cane. He looked up guiltily at Sarah.

"Heh heh– just trying to get to know the little, uh, big guy. We're best pals, now. Bosom buddies." He looked at the dog with a terrified expression on his face and reached out as if to pat his head, but couldn't bring himself to touch it. "Um, well, I guess I'll just be leaving then."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "I think you'd better."

"I, uh– yeah." He scampered off.

Sarah looked down at Frankie. "Mr. Wonka sure is a bad liar, isn't he, boy? Wendy's really going to hit the roof when she finds out he was giving candy to you, but I don't think we should tell her." She laughed and rubbed the dog's head, setting the bowl of scraps he had been looking hungrily at for the past minute. "I do want to know what is was he fed you. I hope it wasn't anything…dangerous."

_But then_, she thought wryly,_ you just never know with that man._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Willy and Charlie were strolling along on one of their brainstorming sessions, discussing plans for a soda that never lost its fizz, when they heard a strange rumbling sound.

"That isn't one of the machines, is it, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, puzzled.

"I don't think so," replied Willy. "I mean, it kinda sounds like an engine…and it sounds like it's coming from outside."

Both naturally curious people, the pair headed toward the entrance to the factory. Charlie pressed the button that opened the doors and they peered outside.

The reporters and fans that were usually clustered at the front gate had scattered, and with good reason; a crazy person on a motorcycle was headed straight for the gate with no sign of stopping.

"I think that's Aunt Wendy!" exclaimed Charlie. "Open the gates, or she crash right into them!"

Personally, Wonka wouldn't have minded, but if she got injured it could mean lawyers. So, with an internal sigh, he pushed the button that activated the gates.

She sped down the walkway, braking hard right in front of the entrance. She slewed the bike to the left and it stopped just in front of the steps. Wendy lifted the helmet and grinned.

"I'm a bit rusty," she said as she hopped off the bike. Willy noticed a long, rectangular instrument case slung across her back.

_Wonderful,_ he thought sarcastically. He watched as Charlie ran to help her unload things from the sidecar. Not wanting to be roped into helping carry things, he turned and walked back inside the factory. Wendy watched his retreating back with a frown.

"Guessed he's still upset about earlier," she muttered under her breath. But Charlie heard.

"What happened this morning?" he asked curiously. Sighing, Wendy picked up the boxes she had brought.

"I'll explain to you on the way, my dear."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

"You knocked his hat into the _river_?" Charlie paused in front of her door, a smile fighting its way onto his face.

"It was an accident! I only wanted to give him a bit of a scare!" she protested, laughing. In retrospect, it was quite funny. She dropped her boxes on the floor and laid down her instrument case. "He woke me up this morning by screaming in my ear; I thought I was due a bit of a comeback. I didn't mean to, really. And now he's plotting his revenge against me." Wendy still looked a bit apprehensive about this.

"Don't worry. I doubt he'll do anything too dangerous." Charlie looked thoughtful for a moment, missing his aunt's rather distressed expression at the word 'dangerous'. A wicked grin spread across his face.

"Aunt Wendy, I think you've started a pranking war."

"A pranking war? But don't you think Mr. Wonka will get irritated?"

"I don't think so. He's– well, he's kind of– " Charlie faltered, trying to find a way to explain what he meant.

"In touch with his inner child?" asked Wendy, grinning.

"Spot on, Aunt Wendy."

"Wow, Charlie. You're such a sweet, kind boy," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry– Mr. Wonka says I'll grow right out of it," replied Charlie in a completely serious tone.

They looked at each other and burst out laughing. After wiping her eyes on her shirtsleeve, Wendy opened the door to her room. "Thanks for helping me carry my bags, Charlie. I really appreciate your– WHAT THE F– WHAT IS THAT?" she screeched, looking in horror at something in her room.

"What? What's what?" Charlie nearly tripped over her instrument case to get a look. "Oh no! I think that's _Frankie_!"

"Frankie? My _baby_? He's a **MOP**!" Charlie had to admit; it did look like an oversized mop.

"Seems as though someone's given him a Hair Toffee. They're not quite done yet, you see," said Charlie apologetically, hoping to sooth his livid aunt. "We've managed to get them so the eater's hair stops growing after about four feet." It hadn't seemed to help. Wendy stilled looked as though she was about to have a conniption fit.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "All right, Mr. Wonka," she spat. "This has gone far enough. It's fine if you're slipping me candy that makes me look like bloody Cousin It. But when you start feeding strange candies to my Frankie– well, my friend, you have crossed the line. This. Means. War."

**A/N: Woo! That took me a long time to write. But it was fuuun! squee! And I have a poll for you guys! Ok, it's well established that Willy and Wendy are in a pranking war. I want you all, my reviewers, to send in your ideas for a prank Wendy can pull on Willy! I know his next prank, then her next prank, and then I know what I'm doing after that. But if you guys have any suggestions as to Wendy's next prank, send 'em in! I do have a fallback plan: the ol' flaming bag of dog poo, but with a little something extra. I thought that was a bit crude, though, so I need your ideas! **

**Oh! I finally put chapter titles up. Yay! **

**Ok, reviews now!**

**From Chapter 2:**

**Sybl Angelkat: A Mary Sue is a perfect, beautiful person who usually wins the heart of the author's favorite character. Go to this site (w/o the spaces):**

**http // www . subreality . com / marysue / explain . htm**

**Wicked Serpaphina: is hugged Yeah! Woo! Glad you liked it! Thanks for your neato comments! Lol, guess what. I've planned a chapter a looong ways down the line called "Lollipops and Jellybeans"! It's going to be a VERY fluffy chapter. Dude, we're like, psychic! It's gonna be awesome! You are sooo totally right, he has. Keep on reading! **

**PucktoFaerie: Oh, yeah. Lol. Thanks for your nice comments!**

**Sybl Angelkat: YAY! I made someone laugh! My dreams have been fulfilled. And I loved you calling it a pranking contest, but I changed it a bit to pranking war. w00t! **

**Willy Wonka's Sweet Sugar Babe: Lol, nope. Thought about, but that would be too mean! And as for Joey, he's just some person she went traveling with. I have a little backstory about that, though. Ok, so she was in Brazil and traveling along the Amazon, and the group she's traveling with is sleeping in the forest. And one night, they hear a funny sound. So they get up to check it out. They think it might be a snake or something. But they don't find anything, so they go back to sleep. A little while later, however, a guy in her group (Joey) scream bloody murder. It wrapped itself around him, but he manages to slice it open with his knife. That's the story. Then, when Willy screams in her ear to wake her up, it reminds her of that incident. That clear things up? Joey wasn't her boyfriend or anything, but I do have something like that tentatively planned. But it comes later!**

**Time Rowanwood: Yay, I made two people crack up! Lol, I ADORE my lime green baseball cap, so I definitely understand Willy's anguish. I heart hats! **

**Forensic Photographer711: Lol, man, people sure do love Willy's hat! It's the kickinist hat EVA! Too cool, you caught it! A. extra hug from Willy too you! Yessss! Thanks so much. I'm glad you like her pj's, I like 'em too!**

**Remember, kiddies, hugs from Willy to reviewers! And I need pranking suggestions for Wendy, so give me your ideas! I might use YOURS! **

**Chapter 5: More pranking goodness.**


	5. Revenge is Sweetand Sticky!

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. But you know, sometimes, when you really, really want something, God cuts you a break… eyes the skies hopefully**

Revenge is Sweet…and Sticky! 

Wendy turned to her nephew. "Charlie my boy, I'm going to need some help in order to get my revenge. I'm going to need someone who knows this factory like the back of their hand. I'm going to need someone who can get me into places I shouldn't be in. I'm going to need someone who _won't tip off Mr. Wonka as to what I'm doing_. Charlie, do you think you're up to being that someone?" She looked at him expectantly with a mad grin on her face.

Charlie thought about it. "Well, alright," he said slowly, "but if Mr. Wonka asks me to help him, I'm going to say yes."

"Good lad! I can deal with that." Wendy slung an arm around his shoulder. "Ok, Charlie love, do you know where Wonka's room is?"

Charlie was beginning to look distinctly uneasy. "Aunt Wendy, you're not going to do anything dangerous or, you know, illegal, are you?" he asked.

"Of course not, my dear!" Wendy assured him. "My good friend Virginia and I pulled this one on a teacher, way back when I was in school. Mind you, he deserved it." She got a far-off look in her eyes. "Good times, good times. But where were we? Ah yes, Wonka's room…?"

Charlie, who was quite used to his aunt's ramblings, cleared his throat. "Yes, Mr. Wonka's room. I do know how to get there. Um, but we'll have to take a rather…unusual mode of transportation. And for the record, you might want to hold on."

"Hold on? Wait, Charlie, what do you mean by that?"

"You'll see."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Wendy stumbled out of the Elevator. Charlie reached out a hand to help steady her.

"Are you all right, Aunt Wendy? Sometimes people are little…disoriented after their first trip." His mother, for one. She hadn't liked the ride at all.

"Oh, I'm fine Charlie. In fact, I thought it was rather fun, like a roller coaster. Of course, after flying in intense wind conditions, I think I can handle just about anything." Wendy smiled brightly.

Charlie shook his head incredulously. She _would_ think it was fun. "Well, anyways, that's the door to his room." He pointed to a huge mahogany door. "Sometimes we brainstorm in his living room. He locks it, though, so you might need a key, and I'm not sure if I can get you one."

"Pssh. I can get in, I'm sure. Now, is there a staircase around here, Charlie darling? I think it might be easier than the way we came up," she said, studying the lock on the door.

"There's one just down the hall, I think."

"Good! Well, let's hop back in that marvelous contraption. I'm going to need some equipment for this prank." She grinned wickedly. "I haven't done anything like this in years! Oh, this is going to be good, Charlie. You just wait and see."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Kneeling by Wonka's door with a paperclip, a bobby pin, and a metal shish kabob stick, she finally heard a _snick_, signifying that her makeshift lock pick had worked. Wendy checked her glow-in-the-dark monkey watch. Twelve thirty a.m. She needed to get a move on.

Picking up her bag of supplies, she suppressed a snigger and crept into Wonka's Navy Blue Living Room. She saw three doors leading into other rooms, and tried the one on the left first. Orange Study. The next door led to a Hot Pink Bathroom. Wendy sincerely hoped she wouldn't go blind.

_And what's behind door number three, _she thought as she approached the third and final door.

It was, as she had suspected, Wonka's Purple Bedroom. In the middle of the room, sleeping peacefully in an enormous purple-blanketed bed, was the chocolatier himself. Wendy bit her lip to keep from laughing as she noticed that he had one thumb in his mouth and the other arm wrapped around a battered teddy bear.

_Like a little angel,_ she thought affectionately. _Wait, what am I saying? This man drugged my dog!_ Shaking her head, she pulled out her pranking materials and got to work.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Willy opened his eyes and stretched luxuriously. _Ah, another bee-ay-yootiful mornin'!_ he thought contentedly. He got up and pulled him velvet black dressing gown on over his purple silk pajamas, then stepped into his bunny slippers.

"And yet," he speculated, "something seems off…but what?" Shrugging, he walked over to his wardrobe and flung the doors open.

Or tried to, anyway.

"What the– why won't you open!" he growled, tugging at the doors. But they refused to budge.

"Weird," he mumbled and padded into his bathroom. Nothing else seemed off as he attended to his morning duties, until he went to turn on the hot water in the shower and the handle wouldn't move.

"Gah! This is really starting to annoy me!" he shouted at it. So he had to make do with a cold shower, which made him especially grumpy.

His bad mood only worsened when he found that he could lift neither his toothbrush nor his toothpaste from the counter, and the cabinet doors in his bathroom wouldn't open. He kicked them, which only resulted in several stubbed toes along with horrible morning breath.

"I'll get to the bottom of this, just you wait," he hissed. Willy stalked back into his bedroom and located his purple latex gloves, his cane, and his hat (which he had cleaned and was now good as new). Even if he couldn't change out of his pajamas, he could still look impressive.

But after he had slipped on his gloves and picked up his cane, however, he felt as thought something was wrong. Realization dawned on him when he tried to let go of his cane and found that he couldn't. It was stuck to his gloved hand.

"Aaargh!" he screamed out in rage. Willy tried to fling the cane from his grasp, but it only flew around and hit him in the head.

"Gosh-darnit," he mumbled, rubbing his head. "_Ow_…" He figured this was probably Wendy's revenge. Well, he'd just track her down and tell her to fix it. Yeah, that's what he'd do! He sauntered out into his living room…and stopped dead in his tracks.

All his living room furniture was still there, exactly the same, unharmed…but it was all on the ceiling.

He didn't say anything. Just stared.

"Huh," he pondered rather absentmindedly, "I wonder how she managed to do that all by her self…"

He shook his head and carefully walked across the room to the front door, eyeing his furniture suspiciously. As good a prankster as Wendy might be, she still had to pay.

With his free hand, Willy grasped the doorknob firmly and opened the door. Luckily, this one was not stuck shut.

But as he tried to let go of the doorknob to leave the room, he found the he couldn't. His hand was stuck fast to the knob, and no amount of tugging would get his hand loose. The chocolatier sighed and seated himself as comfortably as he could and hoped that sooner or later, someone would come along to rescue him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

"It's open," Wendy called.

Charlie burst through the door. "Aunt Wendy," he asked, exasperated, "do you think you could come free Mr. Wonka? It's just that he has work he needs to do…"

Wendy set down her notebook the she had been scribbling away in and stuck her pen in her hair. "Of course, Charlie. I would be happy to assist your friend in his little…predicament. Just let me grab a few supplies first." She pulled a garish lime green dressing gown on over her footy pajamas and picked up a plastic grocery bag. "Lead the way, love."

They took the Elevator up to Wonka's rooms, and found quite an odd selection of people gathered around the stuck candy maker. Grandpa's Joe and George, Sarah, and several random Oompa Loompas were trying various ways to unstick Willy.

"I say we just tie a rope around him and pull really hard," Grandpa George suggested brightly as Wendy meandered through the crowd. She glanced at the normally pristine Mr. Wonka sitting uncomfortably on the floor, one hand apparently clutching his cane, the other a doorknob.

"Well, I really don't know what you want me to do about it," she mumbled to the onlookers. She began to edge away from the assembled group when a hand snaked out and grasped her firmly by the ear. Wendy yelled out in pain.

"Ow! Dad, let go! That _hurts_!" she yelped as Grandpa Joe gave the ear a particularly painful twist.

"Young lady, I think you'd better let Mr. Wonka loose," he told her sternly. "You are acting very immature right now." Wendy flushed bright red and stuck out her tongue at Sarah, who was trying not to smile.

"Alright, fine," she grumped. She walked up to the door and inspected her handiwork. Willy eyed her warily as she examined the hand that was glued to the doorknob.

"Hmm…Mr. Wonka, have you considered removing your gloves?" she asked curiously. He scowled at her. "I would have thought it was the obvious thing to do," Wendy continued, smirking as Willy slid his hands out of his gloves.

"So how do I fix the rest of my room, huh?" Willy asked spitefully, trying to recover some lost dignity.

"Quite easy, my dear." Wendy held up her bag of supplies. "You see, cyanoacrylate is an acrylic resin that sets up fast, often in less than a minute. A normal bond reaches full strength in two hours, and is waterproof. Acetone is a commonly available solvent for cured cyanoacrylate. So all we need to do is dissolve the cyanocrylate with some acetone, which I happen to have here in my bag."

Her little speech was met with blank stares from everyone except Mr. Wonka.

"You're telling me you superglued all my stuff together?" he asked. "So what you've got in your bag is…"

"Ordinary nail polish remover, as acetone is often its primary or only component." She shot him a smile. "What a smart boy. I've got three bottles. Hope it's enough. Have fun!" With that, Wendy gave him the bag with the nail polish remover in it and skipped off. Willy glared at her retreating back.

"Puh-lease. If she thinks a little superglue can stop the great Willy Wonka, she's got another think coming," he muttered darkly. He turned to the Oompa Loompas and handed them the bag. "Ok, I want you guys to go around my room and unstuck all my stuff that that evil, bossy, rude lady glued together, 'kay?" The Oompa Lompas bowed and began their work.

Willy Wonka pondered how he would get his revenge on Wendy. Do something to Frankie? No, he'd already done that. Motorcycle? No, too easy. Suddenly, he got a flash of inspiration. Had there been a light bulb suspended over his head, it would have lit up.

"That's it!" he said triumphantly. He grabbed Charlie by the arm and pulled him in the Elevator. "Come on, Charlie, I'm gonna need your help for this one."

Charlie rolled his eyes. Adults could be _so_ immature.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I don't know…" Charlie whispered.

"Aw, come on, Charlie," Willy pleaded. "You helped _her_, now you have to help me!" He pouted, looking extremely like a seven year old. "Please?" he asked with puppy dog eyes.

Charlie sighed. "Fine. Just…be careful. This plan is kind of risky…" he said worriedly.

"But that's what makes it so fun!" Willy said enthusiastically with an insane smile on his face. "And it's just a little hair, not like a finger or anything." Willy rapped on Wendy's door and ran off, leaving Charlie to complete Part One of his plan. Charlie gulped apprehensively as his aunt opened the door.

"Charlie! What a nice surprise," Wendy said, holding a pad of paper and a pen. "What can I do for you, dear?"

"Would you like to come visit the taffy room with me? I know it's one of your favorites," he said with a smile, pulling off the part of the innocent little boy perfectly.

"Why, of course I would! That's so sweet of you to offer, Charlie." She beamed at him and took his arm. "To the taffy room!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wow!" Wend exclaimed, staring at the giant machines. "I've never seen taffy being made before. It's very interesting."

"I'm glad you like it, Aunt Wendy." Charlie glanced at Mr. Wonka, who was next to the levers that controlled the taffy-pullers. Willy gave Charlie a little wave.

"Oh, Aunt Wendy, I, um, need to go to…the Inventing Room, to do…something," he invented quickly. "Will you be able to find your way back?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine, dear," Wendy assured him. She leaned back against a machine that was not currently in use and smiled as her nephew scampered off.

_What a sweet boy,_ she thought fondly. She heard a loud noise issuing form the taffy-puller behind her and jumped. She tried to turn around, but found that she couldn't, as the taffy machine was yanking and pulling her hair.

"Ow!" she screeched at the top of her lungs, trying to free her ponytail. The taffy-puller, she noticed vaguely, had been shut off again, but by this point she was dangling several feet above the ground, suspended by her hair. Wendy heard a weird giggle coming from her left and twisted her head painfully to take a look.

"Let me down! Help me!" she screamed at him.

Willy Wonka stood there, not doing anything, just giggling.

After about five minutes (during which she screamed at him at the top of her lungs and he stood there laughing), he called an Oompa Loompa over and whispered some instructions. The Oompa Loompa nodded and crawled up on top of the machine with a pair of scissors clutched in his hand.

"Wait! Wait! What are you doing?" Wendy shrieked when she saw the scissors. "Don't you _dare_– "

But the Oompa Loompa had already snipped off about three inches. No longer suspended by her hair, Wendy crumpled to the floor, panting.

Willy Wonka could hear her furious screams halfway across the factory. He grinned wickedly.

"Well done, Willy, well done," he congratulated himself. "That really showed her!" Whistling cheerfully, he skipped into the Chocolate Room, feeling on top of the world.

**A/N: Wow! Long chapter. And guys, I am soooo sorry about the delay. I had writers block last week, then I was in New York for four days (woohoo) then I came back and wrote this! Yay! The pranking war is over, but I've got something fun, planned…fun for us, anyway… snickers evilly Read, review! I want your opinions! I have heard a rumor that replying to reviewers in the story is against the rules, is this true? I have heard anything official yet, so I'll continue. Speaking of reviews– REVIEW! **

**Forensic photographer711: Lol, me too! Sorry about the delay for this chapter, though. **

**Savvy-ani-15: Thanks! His hat's ok, btw. **

**Time Rowanwood: Pranking is muchly fun! But it's over now. cries More fun up ahead, though!**

**Lady Tarja: Oooh, thanks soo much! I'm glad you like the thing with Frankie and Willy. And I am sooo happy that you think Wendy kicks butt!**

**Willy Wonka's Sweet Sugar Babe: Lol, not quite running around on the ceiling…hmm…not a bad idea though! **

**Tidus: I considered it, but decided to go with this instead.**

**Maleficent Angel: Thanks for your ideas! Yes, Wendy was pretty pissed about him drugging Frankie. :p Thanks for your kind words!**

**PucktoFaerie: Thanks! I adore big dogs, as a matter of fact.**

**Sybl Angelkat: Lol, I seriously was thinking about doing that. Thanks for your nice comments. **

**Elizabeth: Wow, I'm so glad you decided to take a chance on it. Your comments make me scream with joy! I'm glad I didn't wreck it. Thanks for your ideas; if I hadn't already had this chapter mostly written, I probably would have used one of them! **

**Thanks again, guys. You reviewers rock my world! Hugs from Willy to all of you! **


	6. You’ve got a Friend in Me…Not

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but still working on it! mutters to self Now, if I put the rocket launcher _here_…**

You've got a Friend in Me…Not. 

Willy was happily inspecting the growth of his chocolate truffles in the Chocolate Room (they were coming along quite nicely), when an irate Wendy burst through the door with an enraged look on her face. Willy gulped anxiously. Things did not look good. As the she-beast neared, the chocolatier looked around for a place to hide.

_Why, oh, why didn't I listen to Charlie!_ he thought fretfully. _I didn't know she'd freak like that! She looks like she wants to rip my head off!_ He dove behind a peppermint tree, but it was too late. Wendy had spotted him.

"WONKA!" she bellowed. "_I've got a bone to pick with you!_" Willy knew he was done for. Wendy grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and shoved him against the tree.

"Hey, hey, easy on the threads," he protested, prying her hands off of his immaculate plum coat. "No touchie." He brushed imaginary dust from his shoulders.

"What do you think you're playing at?" she hissed angrily, disregarding his comment and poking him violently in the chest. "What on _earth_ made you pull a stunt like that? I could have been seriously injured, or even killed!"

"Well, yeah, but you weren't, were you?" he replied snidely. "No harm done, right?"

"_No harm done?_ I was bloody suspended above the ground by my _hair!_ You think that doesn't hurt?" Wendy jabbed him again in the chest. "To top it off, you cut three bloody inches off my hair!" This was what really seemed to burn her up. Willy was getting a huge kick out of infuriating her, though he tried not to show it.

"Huh. I thought it might improve it, but no, your hair still looks like a birds' nest," he remarked with a smug grin. Yep, annoying people was a talent that he didn't get to exercise often enough.

"Well, at least my hair doesn't look like it was styled by a five year old," she retorted.

"Hey!" he said indignantly. "At least my nose doesn't look like it belongs to a pelican."

Wendy put a hand over her nose, rather offended by his comment. It had always been a tender subject with her. She frowned at Willy. "You still don't have the right to put people in danger like that," she said, changing the subject.

"You really shouldn't mumble, Wendy," Willy told her in a patronizing tone.

"I'm _not_ mumbling."

"Nope, I just can't understand a word you're saying."

"_I'm not mumbling._"

"You need to enunciate. _E-nun-see-ate_. People can't understand you when you mumble all the time."

"**_I'M NOT MUMBLING!"_** Wendy screamed at the top of her lungs, two inches away from Willy's ear. Willy put his hands over his ears and cringed.

"You don't need to yell. I can hear you just fine," Willy complained. Wendy let out a cry of frustration. Looking around for a weapon of some sort, she spotted a cream puff growing nearby. Wendy scooped some of the whipped cream from the plant and held it above Willy's head. Willy narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare," he said, backing up a few steps.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" she replied viciously, and smeared it on his face. Willy stood there for a moment, then wiped some of the whipped cream from his eyes. "You are _so_ dead," he told her, and mashed some marshmallows from a nearby marshmallow plant in her hair. Wendy angrily grabbed a candy apple, throwing it at the chocolatier and hitting him in the chest. It kind of exploded and left a pulpy red mess on his shirt and coat. Willy was livid by this point. He picked up a candy pumpkin and smashed it over her head. With a howl of rage, Wendy dove at him and they fell to the ground, snarling and punching.

By this point the two "adults" had attracted a crown of spectators, because apparently people in the factory had nothing better to do than watch these two hurl insults and punches at each other. As Wendy socked Willy in the eye, two Oompa Loompas were setting up a betting stand.

"I'm putting my money on Wendy," Grandpa Joe said. "She can get quite violent at times…"

"What? Willy's got a cane. Of course _he'll_ win, even if he is a pansy," countered Grandpa George, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. "Oh, look at that! Right in the kisser!" he said happily as Willy managed to land a punch.

"Go, Wendy, go!" cheered Grandma Josephine. "That's my girl!"

"Pass the salt," said Grandma Georgina pleasantly.

No one noticed as Sarah, Jacob, and Charlie returned home from with their arms full of groceries.

Wendy had her hands around Willy's throat and was trying to choke him while Willy grabbed her hair and was yanking it, aggravating her already tender scalp. The crowd roared enthusiastically, but Sarah Bucket roared louder.

"**_ENOUGH!_**"

Everyone in the room got silent, though Wendy and Willy were still exchanging blows.

Sarah set her groceries down on the ground and marched over to the two fighters. She grabbed both of them by the ears and yanked them to a standing position.

"Ow! What, is it Everyone Grab Wendy's Ear Day today?" Wendy muttered bitterly. She winced as Sarah gave her a little shake.

"Hush! And I want the rest of you to leave. NOW!" The grandparents and Oompa Loompas scattered quickly, thought Jacob and Charlie stayed and positioned themselves behind a tree to watch. Sarah took a deep breath, then continued to discipline Wendy and Willy. "Now, it was bad enough when you two were 'getting revenge' on each other, but this really takes the cake!" Sarah fumed. "Honestly! Two adults, brawling in public for anyone to see!"

"Um, I don't think the factory really counts as– ouch!" Willy whimpered. "What was that for?"

"Don't you talk back to me, young man," Sarah seethed. "Now I want both of you to apologize and end this feud immediately, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," they both muttered sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Say it like you _mean it!_"

"Sorry, for, you know…punching you and stuff, Willy. I think you're going to have one heck of a shiner," said Wendy uncomfortably. "And getting gunk all over your face."

"My whipped cream is not gunk!" Willy protested hotly. "But I accept your apology."

"You need to apologize too! _You_ cut half my hair off!" Wendy snapped peevishly.

"Yeah? Well, who glued all my stuff together, huh?"

"You drugged my dog!"

"So what? You knocked my hat into the chocolate river! That's much worse."

"It was an _accident!_ Anyways, I only wanted to get back at _you_ for screaming in my ear to wake me up! That was completely out of line."

"SHUT IT, THE BOTH OF YOU!" Sarah yelled. The room got silent again. A furious screaming mother usually has that effect. "You two _will_ resolve your differences, like it or not." Sarah glowered at Wendy and Willy, who squirmed under her unpitying stare.

Wendy attempted a grin, but faltered under Willy's cold look. "I guess…well, Frankie wasn't really hurt, was he? I don't suppose I should have gone to such extremes to get revenge…it _was_ rather mean."

"Darn right," Willy retorted, refusing to give an inch. Wendy nearly lost it.

"You are _impossible!_" she huffed. "I give up!" She stormed out of the room, blood dripping from her nose and part of the candy pumpkin still around her neck. Willy grinned his insane grin and turned to Charlie.

"Guess we showed her, huh, Charlie? Don't think she'll be bothering us anymore!" he said happily. But Charlie just shook his head and walked to the Buckets' house, disappointed by his mentor's childlike behavior. Willy was hurt and confused.

"What'd I do?" he asked, honestly unsure of what he did wrong. Sarah sighed and began trying to explain things to him.

"Willy, Charlie is really fond of Wendy. He doesn't get to see her that often, because she's usually traveling. He would really appreciate if you could try to get along with her for as long as she's here." She smiled encouragingly. "You got used to us, Willy. And Wendy's really a nice girl, once you get to know her. I'm sure you'll make friends in no time." Sarah actually highly doubted this, but it was something she thought she ought to say anyways.

Willy also doubted that he would, or even _could_ make friends with Wendy, but Mrs. Bucket had pulled the Charlie card. Willy would do anything to make Charlie happy, so he would do his very best to…-shudder-…_make friends_ with Wendy. Ew. Who needed friends? They just got in your way.

_But Charlie's your friend,_ said a little voice in his head. Willy sighed. His stupid conscience, interfering yet again.

"Alright, alright, I'll say I'm sorry, 'kay? But only so Charlie won't be mad at me anymore. Not 'cause I want to or anything," he insisted.

Sarah smiled. "Thanks, Willy. I'm sure Charlie will appreciate that you tried."

And so Willy found himself walking to the Green guest suite for the second time in three days. Had it really only been three days since she had arrived? It had.

Willy cleared his throat awkwardly and rapped on the door with his cane.

"I'b a bid busy," a voice called thickly. Willy unhooked his key ring and, after a bit of searching, found the right key and unlocked the door. Wendy was standing the middle of the room, head tipped back, with several bloody tissues pressed against her nose. Willy felt slightly guilty for having making her bleed, but also really grossed out at the sight of all the blood.

"Uh…if you're busy, I can come back," he said uneasily.

"Doe tibe lig de presend," Wendy said coldly (at least as coldly as you can get with a plugged up nose). She took the bloody tissues away from her face to see if her nose was still bleeding. It wasn't, luckily. "What do you want, anyways?" she asked nastily. When she didn't get an answer, she turned around to demand an answer from Willy.

But he was passed out on the floor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Willy. Willy. Wake up, won't you! Why are you being so difficult? Urgh!" Willy felt something very cold fall on his face and his eyes snapped open.

"What the–" he spluttered. "Cold!"

"Sorry," Wendy said, not sounding very sorry at all. She removed the wet washcloth and peered at him. "You okay?"

"What happened?" he groaned, feeling the back of his head. Yep, he could already feel a huge lump forming. And it didn't help that Frankie was breathing nasty dog breath in his face.

"Not sure. You came in here, about to say something, and passed out. You were out for about ten minutes. Do you faint often?" she asked curiously.

"Um, no," he said, pulling himself into a sitting position on the floor. "I don't think I ever– "

Wendy reached for a tissue and dabbed at her nose where a trickle of blood had come out. Willy gagged.

"Don't tell me you're one of those people who passes out at the sight of– oh. _Oh._" Wendy chuckled, then bit her lip as Willy glared at her. "That explains it, I suppose. Though it is your fault I'm bleeding, you know," she added frostily.

"Um, yeah…sorry about that," he mumbled.

"Well, thank you for that heartfelt apology," Wendy said sarcastically. "Anyways, you banged your head pretty hard on the table when you fainted. I don't guess that you have a concussion or anything, but I'm not a doctor, so what do I know?"

"Well, good, 'cause doctors are creepy," Willy stated firmly.

"Why do you say that?" Wendy asked curiously.

"All those needles and stuff," he said wrinkling his nose in disgust. Wendy chuckled.

"For a person who really does pass out at the sight of blood, I guess that makes sense," she said, grinning.

"So what _do_ you do?" Willy inquired, wanting to change the subject. Wendy was confused.

"What do you mean, what do I do?"

"Like your job. Do you even _have_ one? I got the impression from Charlie that you just traveled all the time," said Willy.

"Of course I've got a job! I taught high school history for a few years, but then I got a job as a writer for Worldly Wise magazine," she said proudly.

"Worldly Wise magazine? Never heard of it," Willy said.

"Writers and photographers get to travel all around the globe, doing articles about animals and people and all sorts of things. It's kind of a mix of geography, history, biology and human interest," Wendy explained. "I was thrilled to get a job with them. It's a very select group, you know."

"No, I didn't," he said. "Do go on. I find this _quite_ fascinating."

"Are you patronizing me?" Wendy asked, rather offended. "You know, you can leave anytime. You don't have to stay and be rude by pretending to be interesting in what I have to say."

Willy heaved a great sigh. "Look, Charlie was upset because he thinks I hate you– "

"Wonder where he got that idea," muttered Wendy bitterly.

" –so to make it up to him I've decided to try and be friendly. Not like you're making it any easier on me, though," he complained.

"I didn't think antisocial people _could_ be friendly," Wendy said mock-sweetly.

"I am _not_ antisocial!" he protested hotly. "I could totally make friends with you if I wanted to."

"Who says _I_ want to?" she retorted.

"Well, then, maybe I'll do it just to annoy you. Yeah, I will! Hah! So there!" he said triumphantly, sticking his tongue out at her.

Wendy shook her head, baffled. "So just out of spite you're going to be all nice and friendly towards me?"

"Pretty much," he agreed.

"That makes no _sense!_" she cried.

"Well, I don't normally. What makes you think I'd change for you?" Willy declared. Wendy threw up her hands.

"Oh, I give up!" exclaimed Wendy, exasperated. She stalked into her bathroom and locked the door. Willy had a vague thought that this wasn't the correct way to begin a friendship, but he quickly forgot it as Frankie started to eat his coat, which was still covered in candy from earlier.

"Ah! Creepy dog, get off!" Willy yelled, trying to fend off the monster. "Ew! Dog germs!"

**A/N: w00t! Chapter 7! This one was sooo fun to write, but also challenging. I played with the ending sooooo much. Wendy actually used to be a doctor, but I decided to change that coz it was too Mary Sue according to my beta. Thanx, bro! Yeah, so I saw CatCF again today (third time!) and I reread the book. A few discrepancies between the two, but oh well. Can't win 'em all. Yeah, and btw in the chapter, I invented Worldly Wise magazine. It's like National Geographic, but I didn't want Wendy to do that coz it seemed too Mary Sue. Man, I really need to watch myself. x.x**

**R&R, peoples! To the _four_ people who reviewed last chapter, thanks and hugs from Willy to you all! And I want your opinions and idea. Romance is still a ways off, but Chapter 7 _might_ include a trip to the library, Willy being tactless, and Grandpa George making snide comments. But guess what! You'll find out faster if you REVIEW!**

**Wonka's lovely assistant: Yep, hugs to you!**

**Maleficent Angel: Yeah, my hair too. w00t! So glad you like Wendy! Oooooh! I 3 your story!11111111111oneoneone **

**Forensic Photographer711: Lol, yeah I know. And it's not like I've ever pulled the superglue thing… whistles innocently**

**Elizabeth: Yeah! Man, it makes me happy to make people laugh. That's what I thought about the gloves. Get with it, Willy!**

**PucktoFaerie: Those are great! Have to remember those for my bro… Thanks!**


	7. A Taste of His Own Medicine

**Disclaimer: Udeday, Iyay ouldshay, ikelay, otallytay itewray ayay olewhay apterchay inyay igpay atinlay! Atthay ouldway ebay osay oolcay! Utbay Illyway Onkaway andyay allyay ethay estray illstay on'tday elongbay otay emay. Apcray.**

**Oh, and for the record, it's about the second week of May by now in this story. That was mostly for my benefit, so I don't go writing about snow and Christmas and stuff. Also, I have no idea how the British school system works so I was just planning on having Charlie's summer holidays begin around the middle of June? Unless anyone knows differently. On with the story!**

A Taste of His Own Medicine 

True to his word, Willy did indeed act friendly towards Wendy for the next several days, talking to her about the weather and asking after her health in an extremely polite but decidedly creepy way. Wendy stoically ignored the chocolatier, giving him the silent treatment and acting as though he didn't exist. Willy was unfazed. He figured that if he kept this up long enough she'd probably crack, and as it turned out, he was right. Kind of.

Dinner at the Bucket's house had become a very interesting affair. Willy had snagged a seat directly across from Wendy, and for the entire meal he would chatter away about nothing in particular to the unresponding woman. While Wendy showed no outward appearance of annoyance, it was clear to the entire family that Willy's constant attention was wearing on her nerves. The question on everyone's lips was, "When will she finally snap?"

Sarah Bucket was also at her wits' end. She couldn't figure out why her sister was being so stubborn against Willy's attempts at friendliness.

"Wendy, why are you being so pig-headed about this?" Sarah asked wearily, clutching her teacup. Wendy shrugged.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, Sarah," replied Wendy smoothly, taking a sip from her own cup. "It's a free country. I can ignore whomever I want."

"Willy's just trying to be friendly," Sarah tried to convince her sister.

"He is _not_. He's just doing it to spite me," said Wendy mulishly. Sarah rolled her eyes and decided not to get into _that_ argument again.

"Well, you still can't ignore him forever, Wen," she pointed out reasonably. "You're going to have to talk to him sometime."

"But then he'll win!" Wendy cried. Sarah groaned and massaged her temples. Some times it felt as though _she_ was the older sister, and Wendy was the younger, more immature one. "Although I do want to end this thing," Wendy continued. "I mean, at first it was just irritating, but now it's _disturbing_. Like I've got a stalker or something."

"Then what do you propose, Wendy, seeing as you don't like any of my ideas?" Sarah asked, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. Really, whenever Wendy was around, it was as though she had another child to take care of.

"Not sure yet, Sar, but I'll think of something. I always do," she said, smiling. The smile slid from her face as she gazed out the window. "Oh shi- er, _shoot!_" she amended hastily. "Got to run, dears." Giving Sarah a quick hug and blowing kisses to the rest of the Buckets, she burst through the door and dashed out of the Chocolate Room, sometimes pausing to duck behind a bush or tree. Wondering what could have caused her sister's odd behavior, Sarah took a look out of the window.

"I should have known," she muttered, grinning. "Hello, Willy."

"Hiya, Mrs. B." Willy said, striding through the door. "I was just wondering if you knew where Wendy was today? If I didn't know better I'd say she was hiding from me," he said with a soft giggle.

"I have no idea where she could be," lied Sarah smoothly. "Perhaps she's gone out for a bit."

"Oh, 'kay. Well, thanks anyways," he said, shooting an odd look at the grandparents. Grandpa Joe was covering Grandpa George's mouth with his hand, though muffled protests could still be heard.

_Old people were weird,_ Willy thought. "See ya later, alligator!" said Willy out loud, exiting the small house with one last glance at the struggling seniors.

As soon as he had left, Grandpa George clamped his teeth on Grandpa Joe's finger. "Ow!" Grandpa Joe exclaimed, yanking his hand away.

"Well, you shouldn't have been trying to shut me up anyway," growled Grandpa George. All four grandparents starting bickering loudly (though Grandma Georgina was arguing hotly about how expensive asparagus was these days). Sarah drained the rest of her tea, silently wishing that it had been something a bit stronger instead.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That night at dinner, Wendy showed up as usual, looking a bit less frazzled than normal. In fact, she had a downright smug look on her face as she took her regular seat. Sarah had a feeling that Wendy had, indeed, thought of something, though she was dreading finding out what that something was.

"So, Wendy," started Willy in what Wendy had called his eerie-psychopath-stalker voice, "how was your day today?"

Instead of just staring down into her plate and pretending she hadn't heard a word he'd said, Wendy tried a different approach.

"Why, Mr. Wonka, I had a _terrific_ day today!" she chirped brightly, staring Willy straight in the eye. "Thank you _so much_ for asking! Let's see, I took Frankie for a long walk today, and you know, he's just so _great_ at making all those reporters and fans and stuff leave me alone, he's like a bodyguard! What else did I do today? Well, I unpacked some of my knick-knacks I collected on my travels; luckily none of them were broken…" And she went on and on and on, until everyone at the table felt like smacking her one. Willy was quite unnerved. No matter what he said, he wasn't really _that_ fond of people, and having this lady give him her undivided attention was severely creeping him out.

"…and I practiced my oboe and I worked some more on this big project that I've started. It's coming along quite nicely." Wendy finished off her (exceedingly) long tirade, panting slightly. "And what did _you_ do today?" she asked, gazing at him intently.

Willy just stared at her with fear blatantly written all over his face. He gulped anxiously. "I, um, I…gotta run," he said hastily. "Heh heh, I just remembered, I hafta go…check on something. Sorry I couldn't stay for dinner, but I really must go…thanks anyways!" said Willy, grabbing his hat and cane and exiting the house at a near run. Everyone sitting around the table gave Wendy a Look. She bit her lip as she stared back at them, fidgeting under their glares.

"What? I was just giving him a taste of him own medicine!" she said defensively.

"It's different, Wendy," Sarah began in a calm, explaining sort of tone. "I doubt anyone's said that much to Willy all at once in ten, fifteen years. Of course he'd spook, he's not that's used to it."

"But he's been around you all for a while now," said Wendy, "Wouldn't he be used to people talking to him and stuff?" Sarah and Jacob exchanged glances.

"Not really," said Jacob carefully. "We…try to give him space and privacy, and not push him too much. Willy's not a people person, you could say," he added with a rueful smile. "Charlie's the one who he really enjoys talking to."

_Charlie_. Wendy glanced nervously at her nephew. "Oh jeez, Charlie dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…" she trailed off, not sure how to continue. He smiled at her.

"It's really all right, Aunt Wendy," he assured her. "I don't blame you; you didn't know Mr. Wonka would react like that." But even as Charlie said this, she could see disappointment in his eyes. Wendy sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll go track him down and apologize. Try and get this whole mess cleared up, you know." She got up from the table began her search for the chocolatier. Charlie smirked as she left and the adults at the table all shook their heads in unison.

"Charlie lad, you have got those two wrapped around your finger," chuckled Grandpa Joe.

"I don't really think it's fair to take advantage of them like that," admonished Sarah. "But at least you have some control over them. Honestly! Those two are so stubborn," Sarah said, grinning.

"You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife," Grandpa George boomed not-so-subtly. Jacob spewed his iced tea across the table and Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe snorted in agreement. Grandma Georgina just smiled and nodded. Sarah cocked her head and looked at Grandpa George, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" spoke Grandma Josephine. "Back when I was a kid, if a boy liked a girl he'd tease them to no end. Willy never really grew up, so he's teasing and messing with her to get her attention." Sarah had to admit she had a point, but still wasn't sure that Willy…_liked_ her sister. It was a bit farfetched, but Charlie piping up with a query of his own interrupted her mulling.

"Mum, what's sexual tension?" Sarah looked over at her husband, who blanched and tried to make himself invisible. The look in her eyes plainly said, "You handle this or you're sleeping on the sofa tonight." Jacob sighed, resigned to his fate. Clearing his throat, he looked at his eleven year old son apprehensively.

"You see, Charlie, when a man and a woman like each other a lot but don't want to admit it so they end up fighting and screaming at each other a lot, that's kind of what, um, sexual tension is," he explained awkwardly. Sarah coughed to cover up a laugh and hoped that Wendy was having more luck in her chat with Willy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She found him sitting by the riverbank, well secluded in a little copse of peppermint trees. He seemed to be breathing rather heavily and looked like he was about to throw up. Wendy felt her stomach squirm with guilt.

"Hey, Wonka," she said, sitting down next to him. Willy jumped about a mile, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Oh…it's _you_," he muttered. "What do you want?"

"Sorry for freaking you out like that at dinner," said Wendy crisply, getting straight to the point. "I just wanted you to know how weird you were acting towards me. I didn't mean for you to practically hyperventilate."

Willy snorted. "I would not have hyperventilated."

"You looked like you were going to."

"Well…maybe a little," he said grudgingly. "But it was your fault, practically jumping on me like that!"

"Yes, and I said I was sorry," said Wendy evenly. "And I think that we should agree to end all of this competitive nonsense once and for all."

"You know, that's smartest thing I've heard you say all week," Willy agreed, grinning. Wendy was not amused but decided to let the comment slide.

"So," she said, sticking out her hand. "Not friends, not enemies…acquaintances?"

Willy offered his hand tentatively, not relishing having to have physical contact with Wendy, but he ignored his misgivings and shook her hand limply. "Acquaintances."

And thus a non-friendship was born.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A week after Willy and Wendy's discussion, and things were back to normal in the Wonka factory.

Well, as normal as things got with Willy Wonka around.

Charlie and Wonka were in the middle of testing a very thin sugar paper that was safe to eat, and very useful for writing notes to friends in class (provided you wrote with nontoxic ink). The only problem was that it had a tendency to melt and get sticky all over everything, but Willy thought that if he applied the same method he used for his non-melting ice cream it could fix the problem.

Charlie was in the middle of telling his mother all about it after school one day when Wendy came in and started rummaging through the cabinets, looking for something.

"Can I help you?" asked Sarah somewhat sarcastically. Wendy shook her head.

"I'm fine, dear. Just going to make myself a little snack and get back to work," she replied, taking out sandwich fixings.

Charlie suddenly realized that he hadn't seen his aunt much lately. She hadn't been down for meals, so a concerned Sarah had started sending an Oompa Loompa with a tray of food for her. As he peered at his aunt, he noticed that she looked rather tired, and she had light bags under her eyes.

"Have you been asked working on that 'big project' you hinted about a while back?" he asked, interested. Wendy grinned.

"Perhaps," she said mysteriously, slathering mustard on a piece of bread and then slapping a few ham slices on it.

"What is it?" asked Charlie eagerly.

"Yes, we all would like to know," Sarah chimed in, looking expectantly at her older sister.

"Can't tell you. It's a surprise," said Wendy, taking a large bit out of her sandwich.

"The best kind of prize is a _sur_prise." Willy bowed deeply to the small house's inhabitants. "Afternoon, dudes and dudettes."

"Well put, Wonka," Wendy said, shoving that last part of her sandwich in her mouth. "Sorry I can't stay to chat, folks, but I must be off. Work to do!" And with that, she bounded out the door. Willy raised an eyebrow.

"Was it something I said?" he asked. Sarah shook her head.

"No. That was, I think, the first time she's been out of her room in three days. I wish I knew what that project was, though…it seems to be sapping up all of her time," she said in a slightly worried tone. "And she doesn't look as though she's getting enough sleep."

"Mothers," said Willy in an exaggerated whisper, rolling his eyes. Charlie snickered. In a regular voice, Willy added, "Pssh, don't worry. Sometimes I go for days without sleeping when I have a really good idea and I don't want to lose it. She's probably just on a roll or something." He awarded Sarah a small grin then wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders. "C'mon, Charlie! I think I got the mixture for our eatable paper right this time!" he said excitedly, and the teacher and student left to continue working on their new invention.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was nearly one in the morning, and Willy couldn't sleep.

This in itself was nothing unusual; he didn't need much sleep and was prone to getting up in the middle of the night and wandering around his factory, usually the Chocolate Room. He liked to walk down by the chocolate river. In the synthetic moonlight it was eerily beautiful, and sometimes he brought along a mug and would have a cup of hot, melted chocolate to help him settle down. In fact, sometimes he got his best ideas strolling around the factory during the wee hours of the morning.

This night as he was walking, however, the chocolatier was nearly brained by a flying notebook. He managed to duck just in time and the notebook flew harmlessly into a tree. Willy thought he probably knew the cause of the airborne notebook, and a few seconds later a hushed yell proved him right.

"Urgh!" Wendy said softly, running her fingers through her hair in a sign of exasperation. Willy stepped out of the shadows in front of the surprised woman. He handed her the offending notebook.

"So, what'd that thing do to you?" he asked, taking a seat across from her on the ground. Willy thought that he ought to be at least civil to Wendy and try to get to know her a bit; he still wanted to prove that he wasn't completely antisocial. As he tried to look interested, Wendy took a deep breath then let it out slowly.

"You kind of scared me, just materializing in front of me like that," she said, taking the notebook and trying in vain to smooth out a few bent pages. "And it's not what this notebook did to me, it's what I did to it," Wendy said with a sigh.

"Which was…?"

"I filled it with stupid, pointless, boring RUBBISH!" she said angrily, tossing it to the ground again. To Willy's extreme horror and dismay, Wendy sniffed and her lower lip began to tremble. _No_, he thought. _She wouldn't…_ But to Wonka's great relief she did not start crying.

"I'm sure it's not _that_ bad," Willy said.

"It IS!" she protested. "It's horrible. All of it! And I'm never going to be a wr-wr-writer!" Wendy's eyes filled with tears and her voice got all trembly.

Willy gulped. He really didn't have a clue on how to handle this, but he was never one to leave a damsel in distress in…distress. "Hey, take it easy," he said, trying to be consoling. "No need to be so hard on yourself. I mean, when I first started making candy, do you think all of it was delicious at first? No! Sometimes I got some really horrible tasting chocolate, but I kept trying, and look at where I am now! The best candy maker in the world!" Willy said with a grin. Wendy gave a huge sniff and offered a wobbly smile.

"You, know, I think you're right," said Wendy.

"Course I am." Willy nodded, as he knew that he was _always_ right.

"I'm really sorry…I just felt so down in the dumps," she continued. "But I feel a lot better now. It was probably just writers' block anyways. Thanks for being so encouraging, though. I really needed that!" She reached over to give Willy a hug, but he backed away hastily, an alarmed look on his face. Wendy grinned.

"Sorry, I forgot about the no touching thing." Wendy gathered up her notebook and pen, then stood to leave. "Thanks again." She skipped out the Chocolate Room, humming happily. Willy shook his head. Girls were _weird_.

**A/N: Lol, I realized that I had put chapter 7 in my author's note last chapter, so sorry about that! I'm a little absent minded. Woo for the REAL Chapter 7! And when I started writing this chapter, it kinda pulled me in another direction. So I didn't really get to add in some of the things I wanted, but I put in something I needed. Heh, that's life, I suppose. I hope Wonka wasn't too OOC in this chapter. I felt he was a little bit off. I dunno; tell me what you think, R&R! Speaking of which…what lovely, long reviews I got for last chapter! Willy gives you all a big hug, and Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delights as well! And as always, ideas and suggestions are welcome. **

**Wicked Seraphina: My most esteemed reviewer and fellow Willy fanatic, thank you! Hoo boy, do I agree with you and Wendy! That was slightly inspired by the total idiots at a haircut place who took off like three inches when I just wanted a trim. DAMN YOU! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I always look forward to hearing from you!**

**Forensic Photographer711: Ha! I ramble on forever, too. Yay, glad you liked Chapter 6! Yeah, Sarah is totally cool Supermom in my story. w00t! **

**PucktoFaerie: Glad you liked the fight scene, that was prolly my favorite part. **

**Maleficent Angel: Oh, yes, they are a lot like each other. But they have their differences, which will probably be important later on. OMG, I had the idea of an Oompa Loompa betting table and I could not let it go. They made quite a profit, to…**

**Lady Tarja: Well, my bro thought it was, so I read it again and was sickened by how Mary Sueish it was, so I changed it. Romance will come eventually, but with Willy you can't rush things. I TOTALLY agree with you about the book 'n' movie, and I do know what you mean. Hope this update is soon enough; though I love peanuts I also love mah Willy! **

**Jacksmybitch: Glad you think my story kicks ass! Here is another chapter for you!**

**Elizabeth: Girl, where is my WONKA PLUSHIE!1111oneoneonetwothreetenmillion Your praise makes me soooo happy! If Wendy ever gets too MS, or Wonka too OOC, please tell me! Lotsa peeps lurrrrrved the fight scene, yay!**

**Ok, I have several stories that I want you guys to check out! –shameless plugging of wonderful stories- Okies, "Circus of Life", "Being a Big Brother", "Merlot", "Confectionary Secrets", and "Endorphins". Yeah, some of my reviewers, you might find your stories up here! Just wanna say I care…**

**And, because I am too lazy to write a blog or anything, I will pour out my soul to you guys. I recently had the most awful misfortune to find what is probably the WORST MARY SUE EVAH. I can't tell you the title, but it was horrible. It made me puke blood and cry tears of hate. Wicked Seraphina knows what I'm talking about. So I want you guys to take a stand against Mary Sues. Protest at your local library or bookstore; write a letter to your congressman. THE EVIL MUST BE STOPPED!**


	8. Willy and Charlie's Excellent Adventure

**Disclaimer: If I didn't own this at the beginning, do you really think anything's changed by now? But I keep forgetting: I own Wendy and Frankie! Go me! And I own the museum and Vivian and the people in the museum. **

**And yes, I have changed my name. Sorry, folks, but I really wanted to. And I also changed the rating, because it will probably go up in the near future. And I want to be able to swear. **

Willy and Charlie's Excellent Adventure 

The next morning, Mr. Wonka was greeted by the smell of something burning in his Chocolate Room. He was quite worried at first, concerned that something had happened to his beautiful candy plants, but then found that the odor was emitting from the Bucket's house. Willy assumed that someone had burnt breakfast and decided that he could make his own this morning, when he heard arguing coming from inside. Curiosity piqued, he opened the door of the small house and walked in.

Charlie was sitting on the bed with his grandparents, all five amusedly watching the scene that was taking place in front of them. Mr. Bucket was trying to soothe a fuming Sarah, and Wendy was scraping what looked like smoking lumps of coal from a pan that was also issuing smoke. Willy noted with some astonishment that it made a clinking noise as it hit the plate.

Wendy looked up at the chocolatier and smiled. Willy thought that she looked a bit more relaxed than she had the night before, which was good. He hoped she wouldn't ever, ever break down in front of him again. It was creepy, weird, and made him extremely uncomfortable. "Buenos días, Mr. Wonka. I was trying to make breakfast, but I think I overdid the bacon a bit," she explained. Willy raised his eyebrows. Bacon that you could cut diamonds with, and Wendy called it _overdone?_

"Overdid?" Sarah said in that quiet, scary voice that parents get when they're really, really angry. "If I recall correctly, it caught _fire_, Wendy. I know that while your cooking skills aren't that great–"

"Just because I used to be able to burn water you think I'm still incompetent in the kitchen, Sarah!" Wendy waved her spatula in the air threateningly. Willy decided to take refuge behind the bed with Charlie and the grandparents. "I _told_ you I was sorry about breakfast! Can't you let it go?"

Sarah took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, trying to calm down. She managed a weak grin. Jacob relaxed his grip on his wife's shoulders, relief evident on his face. "All right, I'm sorry. Bringing that up was uncalled for…but when flames came shooting up out of that pan, it just really scared me, Wen," said Sarah, patting her sister's hand.

"Scared _you_? I nearly got my eyebrows singed off," Wendy said with a chuckle. Sarah laughed, too, and everyone let out the breath they had been holding. Hell hath no fury like two angry, violent sisters.

"So are we getting breakfast or not?" asked Grandpa George grumpily.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "I made eggs before that little…"

"Fiasco?" put in Willy helpfully.

"Thank you, Willy. Fiasco seems to fit perfectly here," Wendy said with a grin. "And don't worry. Despite what Sarah may have told you, you won't die if you eat my cooking," she added, piling eggs on a plate and handing it to Charlie. "Try some, love." Charlie halfheartedly put a forkful of food into his mouth as the rest of the family watched anxiously. Wendy sighed and filled another plate while Willy stared at his heir, making sure he wasn't poisoned in any way.

"Do you really not trust me that much?" Wendy grumbled playfully. Charlie grinned and swallowed.

"Not bad," he said. "Did you really used to burn water?"

"No," protested Wendy, handing the last plate of eggs to Willy, who looked at it suspiciously. Grandma Josephine cleared her throat and Grandpa Joe bit back a smile.

"Well, just once…" she said reluctantly. Willy made a face and decided that, no matter what, he was never, ever eating anything that Wendy had cooked. Handing his plate to Jacob, who shrugged and shoveled in, Willy grabbed a white, lacy apron hanging on a hook and flexed his fingers.

"If you all want to eat those icky nasty scrambled eggs that Wendy cooked, go right ahead. But I am making French toast for anyone who wants some," said Willy, getting eggs, milk, bread, and other various ingredients. He heated up a skillet and got to work.

"You can cook?" Wendy asked without thinking. Willy stopped, turned around, and looked at Wendy with an absolutely flabbergasted expression on his face. Charlie burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?" Wendy asked, puzzled. "I– oh." She got it, and slapped a hand to her forehead with a mortified cry. "Aargh! Sorry, sorry, I wasn't thinking!" she added, fighting to keep a grin off her face. "Sometimes I don't think about things…"

"That much is obvious," muttered Willy darkly, sliding a spatula under the heavenly-smelling toast and flipping them expertly. "I'm just the world's greatest chocolatier, but _no_, I don't know how to _cook_ or anything," he added, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What I meant was, you know how to cook, like, real food," Wendy amended, still looking rather embarrassed.

"Oh yeah. Of course I can cook _real food_," said Willy contemptuously. "I had to be able to cook for myself when I was younger, or I would have starved."

"Well, that's better than I can do," Wendy said, silently admitting defeat and nimbly avoiding what could have escalated into a nasty argument. She tried a bite of toast, and a blissful smile appeared on her face. "Marvelous!" she declared, mouth full.

The Bucket's, Wendy, and Willy were all eating breakfast in a peaceful silence, a rare occurrence (but a very welcome surprise for Sarah) when Wendy spoke up.

"I was thinking about taking Charlie out for the day, if that's alright with you two," she said, addressing Sarah and Jacob. "We have hardly spent any time together, and I need a break from my work."

Charlie perked up at the words. An outing with his aunt could prove to be quite fun, although he felt a little guilty about deserting Mr. Wonka. Charlie and Wendy both looked pleadingly at his parents.

"You're going to have to ask Mr. Wonka about that, Wen," said Sarah. Her husband nodded in agreement. "It's alright with us, but Saturdays are Charlie's factory days, since during the week he has school," Jacob added. Wendy turned her gaze to Willy, looking hopeful.

"If Charlie is going to spend time with anyone, it should be me," Willy said huffily. "I _am_ his mentor, after all."

Wendy's face fell for a moment, then brightened considerably. "Great!" she chirped cheerfully. "You can come with us!"

Willy cocked his head to one side, a puzzled expression on his face. "You're joking, right?" he said uncertainly.

"Of course not! Come on, Willy, it'll be fun," she assured him with a smile. "And there's more than enough room for both you and Charlie on my bike, if you ride behind me and Charlie rides in the sidecar–"

"Absolutely not," Sarah interrupted. "I will not allow my little boy to ride that thing, Wendy. I've seen you drive it," she said darkly. The rest of the Buckets nodded in agreement except for Charlie, who looked rather disappointed.

"I agree with Mrs. B completely," Willy said stubbornly. "We take the Elevator or don't go at all."

"Elevator? Why, that's an excellent idea, Willy," said Wendy. "And I'm glad you've decided to come along, too." Willy's triumphant grin slid from his face as he realized that he had just trapped himself. Charlie grinned at the chocolatier, who was slumped in his chair, wearing a very surly expression.

"So where are we going, Aunt Wendy?" Charlie asked excitedly.

"Well, there's this little art museum a few miles away. The founder is the father of a good friend of mine. We majored in History together," Wendy explained. "And Worldly Wise magazine would often make contributions to their collection. I really would like to visit again. What do you think?" She beamed at the disappointed and rather bemused pair. Grandpa George rolled his eyes and snorted, while Sarah and Jacob looked at each other with raised eyebrows. A museum?

"Museums are _boring_," stated Willy firmly. "All you do is go around and look at a bunch of old stuff. There's nothing fun about going to a _museum_," he sneered.

Charlie, however, made an effort to look pleased. "I– I'm sure it will be very…interesting, Mr. Wonka," he said in an uninspired tone. "And I've never been to a museum before."

"Well, then, all the more reason to go!" Wendy said brightly. "I know you'll both enjoy it immensely. So whenever you two are ready, we'll leave."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Half an hour later, the three were standing in front of the Great Glass Elevator, Wendy eyeing it with some apprehension.

"So what your telling me is…this thing flies outside the factory?" she said, apparently not having grasped that fact when she agreed to ride in it.

"Well, _duh_," said Willy. "So come on, let's get this over with." Charlie elbowed him in the stomach, and Willy sullenly shut this mouth and stepped inside, closely followed by Charlie and Wendy. He pressed a few buttons and with a loud _whoosh_ they were off. Wendy clutched Charlie's shoulder for support, a bit unnerved but also excited. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that…" She let out a breath and gazed out the side of the Elevator, taking in the spectacular view.

"I called my friend. She said that we could use the back entrance, if you want. So you don't get mobbed or anything," Wendy explained. Willy was not reassured. He had forgotten that he would have to actually interact with…other people. Ew. He must have made a face, because Wendy smiled at him and patted his arm comfortingly. He scowled and cringed away from her touch, making Wendy frown a little. The rest of the ride was spent in uneasy silence, with Willy sulking in a corner, Charlie worrying about hurting his aunt's feelings, and Wendy humming tunelessly while watching the landscape pass beneath them.

After about twenty minutes of flying, Wendy spotted the museum and pointed it out to Willy, who just nodded and pressed a few more buttons, causing it to slow drastically and come down with a slight bump just a few feet away from the factory's back door. A woman with long, straight blonde hair, brown eyes, and a dazzling smile approached the three people exiting from the Elevator.

"Wendy! It's been too long," she gushed, embracing Wendy and engulfing Willy and Charlie in a cloud of perfume.

"Oh, Viv, it has," Wendy squealed back, hugging her friend enthusiastically. She let go and turned around to face Willy and Charlie. "Willy, Charlie, this is Vivian Ellsworth. Viv, this is my nephew, Charlie Bucket, and, of course, Willy Wonka," she said proudly. Vivian smiled again, and Willy thought he might go blind. She came forward, hand outstretched, and he tentatively shook it. He didn't want to, but the look on Wendy's face promised pain and hurt if he didn't make some attempt at being civil and polite.

"Why, Mr. Wonka, it is a pleasure to meet you," she said warmly. Vivian turned her gaze downward towards the smaller boy and ruffled Charlie's hair. "And how are you, Charlie? Doing well, I hope?" She didn't wait for an answer but ushered the three into the museum, chattering away to her friend.

Vivian led them through a hallway lined with doors that led to various offices. She stopped near an elevator and pressed the "up" button. "Sorry, Wen, but I have to leave you here," said Vivian apologetically. "I've got miles of paperwork to catch up on…" She gave a loud, weary sigh. "So have fun, you all. It was great seeing you again, Wen, and it was _lovely_ to meet you both," she added, shaking Willy's hand again and shooting him another big smile, reminding him eerily of that beastly Beauregarde woman. He tried to plaster the large, fake smile he reserved for people he didn't know (or didn't like) back on his face, but he didn't think he succeeded in looking very cheerful.

"See you later, Viv," Wendy called as she stepped into the elevator, pulling Wonka and Charlie in after her. As soon as the door had closed she grinned at Willy's rather distressed expression.

"Aw, poor little Willy. Did Viv scare you?" she asked with a chuckle, punching the button for the top floor. He just snorted and started at the wall. He didn't rise to Wendy's bait, though he wanted to retort with a snarky comment of his own. But Willy did have some sense of dignity; it simply wouldn't _do_ to start squabbling in public.

Luckily, Charlie piped up with the perfect comment to lighten the mood. "You know, Mr. Wonka, after riding in _your_ Great Glass Elevator, this seems like a bit of a let down." Willy gave the boy a real grin and ruffled Charlie's hair affectionately.

"Mr. Wonka certainly doesn't do anything by halves, Charlie," Wendy remarked. Willy decided to take it as a compliment.

The elevator "dinged" and the doors opened. Wendy stepped out, followed by an unwilling Willy and Charlie. Willy panicked for a moment as he received curious glances from two little old ladies who were observing a set of rather battered Peruvian jars. A momentary look of panic flashed across his face before, in a burst of childlike logic, he decided that if he couldn't see _them_, then they wouldn't be able to see _him_. Willy snatched up a museum map from a small table and held it open in front of his face. Most fortunately for Wonka, he had toned his outfit down a little that day, so all the museum-goers could see of the famous chocolatier was a pair of navy-blue trousers with black boots peeking from beneath the hems, blue latex gloves curled around the edge of the map, and a tall top hat. Charlie simply sighed and grabbed Mr. Wonka's arm to stop him from walking into a post.

"Come on, you two!" Wendy called, eager to get started.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wendy led them through hallway after hallway of art, some filled with paintings, others showcasing statues or old relics from other cultures. These seemed to be Wendy's favorites; she was a huge history buff and loved looking at artifacts from foreign countries.

Charlie was enjoying the museum a lot more than he had thought he would. He actually found it interesting, and was, to his horror, even _learning_ things. This greatly unsettled the young boy, but he was still having fun nevertheless. He wasn't sure about Mr. Wonka, though. The chocolatier was still hiding behind his museum map, but Charlie could see him peeking his eyes over the top as they walked. Charlie hoped he wasn't having _too_ horrible a time.

As a matter of fact, Willy was enjoying the museum as well. He was a great believer in art and beauty, and, contrary to what he had said earlier, he didn't think museums were boring at all. He had just said that to be ornery and because he didn't want to spend more time with Wendy than absolutely necessary. She scared him, although it would be like pulling teeth to get him to admit it. What was really disconcerting Willy, however, was the realization that Wendy's presence wasn't as intolerable as he had thought it would be. In fact, Willy found it…pleasant to listen to her talk about a topic that she obviously adored. It was probably this awareness that led Willy to do what he did.

Wendy was engrossed in a small plaque describing the handiwork of Tibetan natives when Willy pulled Charlie off to the side. The taller man knelt to look his heir in the eye.

"Hey Charlie, let's blow this pop stand!" he whispered excitedly.

"What do you mean, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked uncertainly. He thought he knew all too well what Wonka meant, but was sincerely hoping that he was wrong.

Willy let out his high-pitched giggle. "I mean that we should leave. There're other, more important things we could be doing right now, my dear boy…not looking at dusty old paintings." Willy felt a twinge of guilt as he said this. It wasn't the art that he was objecting to, but he couldn't very well tell Charlie that he wanted to leave because he was having fun spending time with Wendy.

"I really, really don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Wonka…" Charlie informed the chocolatier. "Aunt Wendy'll go ballistic if we leave without telling her."

"Aw, c'mon, Charlie! I bet we could leave right now and she's never even notice!" he whined petulantly, knowing he sounded like a little kid. Charlie just shook his head. Willy pouted for a moment, then smirked slyly, a brilliant idea forming in his head.

"Hey, Charlie, if we leave right now, I'll let you fly the Great Glass Elevator," Willy said temptingly. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"For real?" he asked. Charlie had wanted to fly the Elevator for _ages_, but Willy had never let him. This was too good a chance to pass up.

"For real," Willy declared, nodding. Charlie hesitated for another moment or so, then grinned radiantly.

"Let's go."

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! It's been ages since I updated, I know! ducks tomatoes But this chapter was…difficult. I actually like it quite a bit now…but I like the next chapter even more. This would have been posted sooner, but I took out a page and a half because it's going into Chapter Nine. And I won't give you excuses like writers' block and school, even thought they're true. But the wait for 9 should be a LOT shorter. **

**And guess what: I changed my name! Yes, now instead of Quill in Hand, I am Cadenza Cavatina. So I will make sure that in my reviews of other stories to put who I formerly was. resists urge to write The Author Formerly Know as Quill In Hand**

**To my reviewers: Thanks a mil! You guys rock my world. I will reply to the reviews in this chapter, but after that I'm quitting because apparently we can't answer reviews in our stories any more, which sucks major big time. Feel free to leave your email addresses, however, because I lurve talking to you guys! And if you have questions, I WILL answer those in the chapter. But if you still want a response from me, leave your emails and I promise I will get to you ASAP. So R&R, all of you lurkers! glares evilly**

**Reviews (a bunch this time!)**

**Maleficent Angel: First of all, I 3 your story! It is the muchly better one, in my opinion. And sorry for the wait– you've been so patient! I'm so glad peeps like Wendy. **

**Sybl Angelkat: Gar…sorry for the wait. I hope that you shriek with your at your Story Alert email. Thanks for caring!**

**Lady Tarja: Good…I'm glad someone liked it! The idea stuck in my head, so I HAD to put it in. That happens a lot with me…and I cannot, simply CANNOT wait for your fic. Hurry, dearie, hurry! Write!**

**Wicked Seraphina: cringes You probably hate me right now…but here is a chapter to sooth your rage! Next chappie up sooner, promise! And I totally agree with you. I mean, come on. Willy in those sexy purple silk PJs walking around the factory? drool And I'm glad you were satisfied with the end scene…hope I cleared that up a bit at the beginning of this chapter.**

**NerdyforWonkaNerds: Hah! I'm a Wonka nerd, too! Yay! Sorry for the wait, hope you like this chapter.**

**Elizabeth: Yeah. I'm "Brother's" beta, actually…she knows how hard I've been working! And don't worry about the Oompa Loompas…I have a _special_ scene for them in the next chapter. I'll give you a hint and the end of the reviews. **

**The Wonkamatic: THANK YOU! I thought so, too, but I think I fixed it in this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**PucktoFaerie: Thanks for your kind comments! Again, sorry for the wait! dies from shame**

**HoVis: That thought went through my head, actually. Hope this chapter is up to par for you!**

**Chocolate14: I'm glad, too! Thanks for reading. **

**is tired Woo! That was a lot of writing. And now, for next chapter's preview:**

**Wendy searches the factory for Willy and Charlie.**

**Frankie is adored by Oompa Loompas.**

**Willy sings "I'm Too Sexy" at the Oompa Loompa Karaoke and Dance Party.**

**Ooh! I've caught your interest now, haven't I! Remember, the more reviews, the sooner I update (maybe). But I really wanna write that scene, so a shorter wait this time, I think. Remember to leave your email so I can reply to your reviews, because I won't be doing it in the chapter!**

**Peace and love, darlings. **


	9. Shall We Dance?

Disclaimer: Not mine. And "I'm Too Sexy" ain't mine, either. All that belongs to me is Wendy and Frankie. Thazzit.

Shall We Dance?

"Sorry for taking so long," Wendy said, tearing herself away from the exhibit on the Tibetan monk's pottery. "What do you two want to see next?" But as she turned around to face Willy and Charlie, she saw that they were nowhere to be found. Wendy sighed, assuming that they had grown bored and had moved on to the next exhibit, so she headed through the door to the next room.

She didn't find them in that room either, though. Or the next. Trying to quell the alarm growing in her mind, she jogged back to the last room she knew they had been in and asked a guard whether he had seen a tall man, dressed in blue with a top hat and carrying a museum map, and a small brown-haired boy wearing a patterned sweater and faded trousers.

"Sure I did, miss. They left here about half and hour ago," he responded. Wendy was now seriously worried. She hurried back to the wing from which they had entered that contained the museum offices, thinking that someone might have seen them. As a matter of fact, several people had seen the pair leave through the back doors about fifteen minutes before. When Wendy stormed outside, she was not at all surprised to see that the Glass Elevator was gone as well. She let out a string of curse words that would have given her mother a heart attack and yanked her mobile phone from her purse, punching the numbers to call a taxi as though they each had Willy's face on them.

On the way back to the factory, she sat in the backseat with her arms crossed and thought about everything she'd like to do to Willy and Charlie once she got her hands on them. Wendy's daydream of running over them with her motorbike was interrupted as the taxi pulled to the front gates of the factory and the driver asked for his fare. She threw a few notes at him and strode up to the gates. They opened up for her straight away. (Willy had, at first, asked the Oompa Loompas to not let her in after she had gone out to do errands, but Wendy had managed to clamber over the top by leaning her motorcycle upright against the gates and using the brick wall for traction. It had taken her a good three-quarters of an hour, with Willy, dumbfounded and rather impressed, watching her progress on the TV screen in the Security Office. Wendy threatened to let Frankie loose in the Chocolate Room if he ever pulled that on her again, however, so that was the end of that.)

Wendy stomped into the front hallway before she realized that she had no idea where the two would be. She hadn't been to many rooms in the factory; indeed, the only rooms she had visited were hers, Charlie's, and Wonka's rooms, the Chocolate Room, and the Taffy Room. Wendy bit her lip, thinking, then decided to try to find an Oompa Loompa to help her. With a start, she realized that she had left Frankie alone and locked in a room for several hours by himself. While Wendy knew that he was self-sufficient, she felt rather guilty about leaving him behind, so she first decided to stop by and see him, thinking that perhaps she could sic Frankie on the germaphobic chocolatier. She needn't have worried about her large companion, however– Frankie had apparently hit it off with the Oompa Loompas.

Wendy opened the door to her room to discover Frankie lying on the bed, being petted and pampered by a small army of Oompa Loompas. She rolled her eyes.

"You big lazy mongrel," she muttered, giving his tail a playful tug. He opened one eye, then closed it, as though he couldn't be bothered to greet his mistress. Wendy chuckled, but quickly sobered as she remembered her mission to track down Wonka and Charlie.

"'Scuse me," she said, addressing the Oompa Loompas clustered around the bed. She was sure that they understood English, but she didn't know if they spoke much of it. "Do any of you know where I might find Mr. Wonka? I'm sure he took the Elevator back, but I don't know where he would have parked it…"

One of the Oompa Loompas nodded and led her out of the room, with Wendy following gratefully. The factory was huge, and if she searched for the missing pair she would most assuredly get lost. It seemed as though they had been walking for hours before the Oompa Loompa (whose name, Wendy learned, was Quincy) tugged open a small metal door. The room inside was nothing spectacular. In fact, it reminded Wendy of a miniature helicopter pad. She supposed that this was where he landed his unconventional aircraft when returning to the factory. Most unfortunately for Wendy, however, the small hangar was empty. She swore in frustration. They should have been back by now…

Wendy wondered for a moment whether or not she should tell Sarah. She knew that her younger sister would go ballistic on the pair of them once they returned. But then Wendy got to thinking…what if Sarah blamed _her_? She was the responsible adult in this case, seeing as Willy could be called neither "responsible" nor "adult". Wendy grimaced as she imagined Sarah screaming at her for losing her one and only child. Nope, she was _not _telling Sarah about this.

"Quincy, dear," she said through clenched teeth, "would you please direct me to a place where I can wait for Mr. Wonka until he returns from his little trip?" The small man hesitated, then nodded in the affirmative once again, and they were off. This walk, however, was much shorter. Quincy paused in front of a pair of huge, intricately carved wooden doors with ornate brass handles. He crossed his arms over his chest then brought them down to his sides again. Wendy copied the movement, vaguely remembering both Willy and Charlie using it while talking to the Oompa Loompas.

Wendy noticed two small plaques hanging over each handle. Both had the word "Pull" engraved on them in a curly, flourished script. She grasped a handle and pulled, but nothing happened. Frowning, she tried the other door with the same results. Just her luck, the doors were locked. Wendy scanned the doors, looking for a keyhole, but she didn't see one. She gave a huge sigh and leaned back against the doors, feeling rather worn out for the day's adventures, but as soon as she had rested all her weight on the doors they opened inward and she fell through the doorway.

Had Wendy been in a better mood, she might have thought that the misleading sign was funny, but she was not in the mood for stupid jokes. Scowling, she turned around to look at Wonka's office. Wendy had expected it to be wild and zany, but it was relatively normal, in fact.

The room was large, and three of the four walls had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed with literature on them. The fourth wall, the one directly across from the door that Wendy had entered through, was just one large window, overlooking the small town. The bookshelves were mahogany, as was the huge desk in the center of the room. There was only one chair in the room. It looked rather like a throne and was upholstered in plush burgundy velvet.

Wendy immediately sat down in it and turned her attention to Wonka's desk. She began rummage though his desk, knowing she was snooping in his personal things and not caring a bit. She eyed his top-of-the-line, flat screen computer with jealousy. Managing to tear her eyes away, Wendy open up a few drawers and rifled through some papers. She had just discovered a drawer full of multicolored latex gloves when she heard a door open and saw an irate Wonka and a nervous Charlie standing in the doorway.

"One of my trusted employees told me you were in here," he sneered. "Without my permission, I might add. Not very polite of you."

She crossed her arms and frowned at them, leaning back in the chair and propping her tennis shoe clad feet on the desk, nearly giving Willy a heart attack.

"Feet – desk – NO!" he choked out. Wendy hopped out of the chair and stood in front of him, staring daggers at Willy and Charlie both. They gulped in unison.

"Do you two have any idea, any _at all_, about what you put me through today?" she hissed quietly.

"Please, Aunt Wendy, we didn't mean to worry you– " Charlie put in quickly.

"Oh? Well, then, what do you call abandoning me in the museum like that?" Wendy began pacing agitatedly in front of them, then turned abruptly to face Willy. "Honestly! How was I to know where you were? You could have been kidnapped or something for all I knew!"

"Kidnapped?" Willy scoffed. "Puh-lease. We were perfectly safe. I was just letting Charlie take the Elevator out for a spin."

"You _what!_"

The conversation went south from there.

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After nearly half an hour of Wendy screaming herself hoarse at the two, Willy finally decided that enough was enough, and that Wendy did have a point. He supposed that he _was_ being irresponsible and reckless, although he had never really worried about those types of things before. Still, he had to set a good example for Charlie, and he did feel rather bad about upsetting Wendy so. Willy held up a gloved hand, a sign for her to shut up, and tried to look properly remorseful.

"My _dear_ Wendy," he said in a sincere, apologetic tone. "You can be sure that I am most ashamed of my actions today. I was being completely immature and irresponsible. I am so very, very sorry, and I promise it will not happen again." He shot her a dazzling, fake smile. Wendy was absolutely flabbergasted, and Charlie beamed proudly at his mentor.

"I…well, it seems you've learned your lesson," Wendy mumbled, the wind clearly taken from her sails. "Lucky for you, I didn't tell Sarah." Horrified looks spread over Willy and Charlie's faces as they thought of her reaction. Wendy tried not to laugh. "You two owe me big time, by the way."

"Hey! I know just the thing!' Willy burst out excitedly. Grinning, he leaned down and whispered into Charlie's ear. Charlie started grinning, too, and nodded his agreement.

"Great idea, Mr. Wonka," he said. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"What? What will I love?" asked Wendy, cocking her head to one side and looking terribly confused.

"You'll see," Willy replied mysteriously. "We'll pick you up at eight. Wear comfortable clothes. Now go, we've got work to do!" And Wendy was ushered out of the room, mystified by the rather one-sided conversation and a bit worried about the impending event that evening.

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"Knock knock!" Willy called cheerfully, tapping his cane on the door to Wendy's room.

"Come on in," Wendy yelled back. Willy opened the door and saw Wendy closing a laptop that had obviously seen a lot of use. Frankie greeting Willy while Wendy got ready. She swiftly pulled her hair back into a ponytail, smoothing curls into some semblance of order, watching Willy recoil from the large dog's happy kisses.

After the earlier enigmatic conversation, she had bugged Charlie for the rest of the day, asking him about what they were taking her to tonight, but he kept his mouth shut. Wendy had even asked Sarah, but all she got was a grin and an assurance from Jacob that she would have fun. After a while she retired to her room, fed up with the inhabitants of the factory and their secrets. Wendy finished tying her shoelaces and stood, stretching.

"Ready to go?" she asked with a weary sigh.

Willy, ever the gentleman, extended a gloved hand and Wendy hesitantly placed her own inside it. They stepped out into the hall, walking straight into the closed doors of the Glass Elevator that Willy had, for some reason, parked directly outside of Wendy's room. Flushing slightly, Willy opened the doors and they stepped inside. He immediately pressed a button near the floor, and the Elevator took off.

Wendy restrained herself from asked where they were going, knowing she would not get an answer. Instead, she crossed her arms and watched the factory fly past. Willy, on the other hand, was watching Wendy.

He wasn't sure why, but she was starting to grow on him. He had tried so hard not to like her, not to become friends, out of habit more than anything else. But Charlie had showed him that having friends was one of life's greatest treasures. So as long as she was here, he might as well make the best of it. He did feel kind of bad for abandoning her like that at the museum, after all. And that was why he had decided to invite her to the Oompa Loompa's big bash that night. Charlie had promised him that she'd like it, and Willy hoped it would make up for being immature earlier.

Now, everyone all know that those mischievous little imps love to sing and dance. When Willy had brought them to his factory, he had catered to their love of music and introduced them to all sorts of music genres, ranging from classical to rap to pop to show tunes…the list went on. Somewhere along the line, the Oompa Loompas had discovered karaoke. So, because Willy was attached to his faithful, hardworking employees, he had set up a party, one night a month, where the Oompa Loompa could strut their stuff on the dance floor and sing along to their favorite songs. Thus, the Oompa Loompa Karaoke and Dance Party was born.

The Elevator stopped in front of a pair of double doors with two sets of handles, one set at normal adult height, and the other much lower. Wendy deduced that Oompa Loompas must frequently use this room. Willy threw open the doors with a flourish, and Wendy was speechless. She seemed to be getting that way a lot around the flamboyant candy man, she noticed, but she didn't have time to think on it much then, because she was awash in a sea of colors and sounds.

The huge room was dim, though colored lamps sent spots of light spinning across the floor, walls, and ceiling, and there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling (of course). An enormous sound system was set up in one corner, with an Oompa Loompa DJ picking the tunes, then blasting them through speakers that dwarfed the tiny dancers. Wendy was absolutely entranced by them; they had _moves!_ Willy grinned.

"Come on, Wendy!" Willy insisted, joining the dancing Oompa Loompas. Wendy stood off to the side and watched as Willy started to bust a few moves himself. Wendy watched in fascination as he moonwalked back towards her.

"Where on earth did you learn how to do that?" asked Wendy, rather impressed. Willy shrugged and grinned.

"You pick things up." He grabbed Wendy by the arm and tried to pull her onto the dance floor. "Come on! You _gotta_ dance!"

Wendy hung back, a bit self-conscious. "Well, I don't really…"

"Sure you do!" Willy giggled happily as he heard the strains of a good dancing song start up. "You'll know this one," he assured her. Wendy recognized it instantly. She grinned and shook her head, but joined Willy in dancing. She did know the moves to this one. And really, unless you've been living under a rock for the past ten years, you know the Macarena.

As she was dancing, Wendy suddenly had a thought. The reasonable, responsible bit of her brain was telling her how absurd this all was…doing the _Macarena? _With a bunch of elves and a possible psychotic, reclusive chocolatier with major people issues? In the largest, most famous chocolate factory in the world?

_Wendy, you do not dance,_ her brain said. _You are a writer. You travel places and talk to people and write human-interest stories. You hate dancing in front of or with other people. You should be writing your book right now. What on _earth_ do you think you're doing? _

But then the fun-loving, uninhibited bit of her brain that she had been trying to keep under control since college shot back with a sassy, _SO WHAT? _And Wendy found she didn't particularly want to be adult and responsible and do work like she ought to. So, laughing insanely, she bumped hips with Willy and shot him a very large smile. The song wound to a close, and Willy looked at her like she was crazy

"You look kinda freaky and possessed, you know. Any particular reason why?" he asked a bit warily.

"Nope. None at all," she said happily. "I'm going to get a drink, be right back, ok?" Willy nodded, and she headed off to a table with a large punch bowl and poured herself a glass. Not surprisingly, it was delicious. She held up a cup and waved it at Willy, asking if he wanted some, but he declined. Refreshed, Wendy sashayed back over to where he stood and grinned again, feeling extremely relaxed and happy. Willy asked Wendy something she would never have thought he would ask anyone, ever. Of course, most of her preconceptions about the eccentric candy man were being tossed out the window tonight anyway.

"I'll betcha know how to swing dance, right?" he said, looking rather pleased about something.

"Swing dance? I haven't in _ages_," Wendy objected, but her protests fell on deaf ears Willy grabbed her hand.

"What happed to your 'no touching' rule, Willy?" she grumbled, not really wanting to give as much energy as swing dancing required.

"No excuses, Wendy dear!" he shouted happily over the big band music that was now blaring form the speakers. He twirled her around once, then smirked. "Think you can keep up with me? If not, I understand completely," he said knowingly. Of course Wendy couldn't let this comment slide, so she grabbed his other hand.

"Don't worry, I can keep up," she said, hoping that this was true. The tempo sped up, and they were off.

They stepped together, then back, then, hands still clasped together, they spun around once. He let go of her right hand and Wendy stepped to the right, now parallel with Willy, then he tugged on her left arm and she spun back in, his arm now around her waist. He let go, but turned her so she would face him. By now, Wendy was simply following his lead. Willy grabbed Wendy's left with his right and vice versa, so their arms were crossed. He let go of one hand and leaned back, nearly sitting on the floor and reaching back with his free hand, in a kind of a squat. Wendy copied his movements; she had done this before. They did this a few times, then stood. Willy flexed his fingers, then grabbed Wendy's waist. Instinctively, she put her hands over his, but soon realized what he had in store for her.

Taking a deep breath (Wendy snorted indignantly; she wasn't _that _heavy!), Willy lifted Wendy and swung her left, then the right, then onto the floor and let go, so that she slid into a waiting group of Oompa Loompas who hauled her up. Dizzily, she stepped forward, vaguely applauding herself for wearing jeans and not a skirt. But Willy still had one move left to make. He grabbed Wendy's right hand and spun her in like he had earlier, with his arms around her waist, then dipped her backwards so that the tip of her ponytail brushed the floor. He brought her back up with a flourish as the song ended and took a huge bow, making Wendy do the same. The Oompa Loompas cheered and whistled. Willy beamed at his beloved employees and friends. Wendy tottered away to a chair, feeling a bit lightheaded.

_Where had he ever learned how to do that?_ she wondered to herself, sipping another glass of punch that a thoughtful Oompa Loompa had brought her. She sat out the next several dances, preferring instead to watch the Oompa Loompas and Willy. She was convinced by several Oompa Loompas to join them in "moshing", however. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but in her somewhat drunken haze she didn't care. (Because, of course, the Oompa Loompas had spiked the punch. No wonder Willy hadn't wanted any.)

Willy insisted that she do the Electric Slide as the evening wore on, however, and for the last dance song of the night, she didn't need convincing. Wendy was a great fan of the Chicken Dance, and Willy got a huge kick out of watching her flap her arms like an idiot.

After the Chicken Dance was over, the Oompa Loompa began moving furniture and bringing out tables and chairs. Most were sized to accommodate the small workers, but they did set up one table that was normal sized. Wendy looked at Willy curiously.

"What are they setting up for? Oh, is it the karaoke part?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Hey, if you wanna leave now, that's fine…" Willy began pushing her towards the door.

"No. I want to stay. Are you going to sing?" Wendy bit her lip trying so hard not to smile.

"They make me. Every single time we have this thing, they make me," Willy groaned.

"Let's not keep them waiting, then." Wendy pushed him toward the microphone the Oompa Loompas had set up. Two of them grabbed Willy's pants legs and were towing him towards it. Willy tossed his cane back to Wendy and sighed in resignation. If he was going to sing, it might as well be something fun. He had just the song, in fact. Hopefully it would make Wendy regret her decision to stay and watch, though with the potency of the Oompa Loompas preferred liquor, Willy doubted that Wendy would remember much of anything in the morning. Wendy settled herself at the table just in front of Willy and twirled his cane absently. Willy grabbed the microphone then nodded once to cue the music.

When Wendy heard the first few notes of the song, it seemed familiar, though she couldn't place it at first. But when Willy started singing, she seriously thought she might die.

"_I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love– love's gonna leave me._" Willy winked and slowly stripped off his coat. He began to swing it over his head, stripper style, as he sang the next verse.

"_I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt._" He tossed his jacket straight at Wendy and she caught it, absolutely speechless. This was…wrong, but in a good way. She kept watching in fascination.

When Willy came to the catwalk verse, he did, indeed do the turn on the catwalk. Wendy was slightly surprised at how adept he was at this…as though he'd had practice on the runway. She shoved that thought out of her mind at once. Willy, a model? Too off-the-wall, even for him.

"_I'm too sexy for my hat-_" Here, of course, he tossed his hat into the air, and Wendy reached out an arm to catch it. Willy sighed with relief. He was a bit worried there for a second.

Wendy, now wearing his hat and hugging his coat (which smelled like peanut brittle, she noticed) and holding his cane, clapped loudly as he finished the song with a flourish.

"Bravo, bravo!" she shouted, giggling. Willy wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "That wasn't too bad, was it now, Willy?"

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled, but he was grinning. "But seriously, I think you need to go to bed– you're looking kind of wobbly and green." Wendy _felt _wobbly and green; she had, by this time, realized what was in the punch and was inwardly kicking herself for not noticing it earlier.

"I agree completely," she said. Wendy held out Willy's coat, hat, and cane. "Here. You can stay– I think I'm going to have a nice lie-down…"

"No, no. I'll walk you back to your room," said Willy, slipping in his coat and placing his hat on his head. He proffered an arm and Wendy gratefully leaned on it, now beginning to feel the after-effects of the punch. And she had thought the Oompa Loompas were sweet and nice little people.

Wendy was very glad that they were not taking the Elevator– she wasn't sure if she was quite up to it. The pair strolled back to Wendy's room, not really saying much, but enjoying a comfortable silence.

"Why didn't the Buckets come?" Wendy asked suddenly. She had been wondering about it for a while.

"I don't know. They came to all the other ones. I asked them to come this time, but they declined. Even Charlie. Most unusual," he said, thinking. They stopped before Wendy's door and Willy nodded briskly.

"Well…goodnight, then," he said awkwardly, turning to leave.

"Wait." He stopped and faced Wendy again. She wrapped him in a huge bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides and squeezing. Willy stiffened visibly, extremely unnerved by this show of affection. Wendy let go. "Thank you, Willy. I had a…very nice time tonight. Although I think I may regret it in the morning." She grinned and entered her room, closing the door behind her. Willy stood in front of the door for a second, still a bit taken aback by her hug.

It hadn't been horrible. He hadn't fainted, or screamed, or anything like that. Willy pressed the call button for the Elevator and pondered as he waited. It was…most unusual.

**A/N: Well, I don't think it was as long as the last wait. I have been writing every single day, but I kept going back and changing stuff, so… Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I think it's ok, but it doesn't thrill me. I don't think the dancing part or the karaoke part turned out very well. Sorry. Read and Review, guys! I want to know how I can improve. As for Chapter 10…hmm. Not quite sure yet. (!) I may put in this bit that I have been DYING to write…but I really will keep that one a secret. **

**As I said in the last chapter, I will no longer be replying to reviews in my story. So if you want a reply, include your email in your review. Happy reading!**

**Oh, and one more thing– if you haven't yet, please check out Maleficent Angel's story "Circus of Life". It is absolutely wonderful. I know I plug it in practically every chapter, but it's just that good! Ilurve it. Tata for now, darlings.**


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